In formal comments filed September 24, TechNet—a lobby group representing Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Meta and dozens of other technology firms—urged the Department of Homeland Security to withdraw its proposal to impose a staggering $103,265 fee on most new cap-subject H-1B petitions. The group argues the charge would “make it economically irrational” for U.S. companies and start-ups to recruit the world-class AI and engineering talent they need to stay ahead of global rivals. DHS unveiled the fee in August, saying it must recoup nearly $9 billion in immigration-system costs from the petitioning employers who benefit from high-skilled visas. The figure dwarfs the current H-1B filing cost of roughly $8,000 and would be payable on top of existing fraud-prevention and ACWIA surcharges. The White House has simultaneously extended a separate $100,000 H-1B payment mandated by a 2025 proclamation—although that levy remains blocked by a federal court order. TechNet’s submission warns that the new fee would disproportionately hurt smaller companies that cannot absorb six-figure hiring costs. It cites internal data showing that a typical early-stage robotics start-up might raise only $3 million in seed funding—making a single H-1B hire consume 3-4 % of total capital. Larger firms, meanwhile, fear the measure will accelerate an emerging trend of R&D jobs being located in Canada, the UK and Singapore, where talent pools are bolstered by more liberal visa regimes. Immigration economists note that nearly 71 % of FY 2025 H-1B registrants held an advanced degree in STEM fields. “Pricing those visas out of reach is effectively an R&D tax,” says Giovanni Peri of UC Davis. DHS, for its part, maintains that U.S. workers have long borne the externalities of the H-1B program and that employers seeking foreign talent should shoulder systemwide enforcement costs. The public-comment period closes October 24, after which DHS must review feedback before publishing a final rule. If adopted unchanged, the fee could take effect as early as spring 2027, forcing global mobility teams to rethink head-count planning, explore L-1 intracompany transfers or expand near-shore hubs outside the United States.
Source: Latin Times
