Post by John Ryan

There’s a lot of noise and misinformation surrounding the new $100,000 H-1B visa fee, so I decided to take a deeper look and separate fact from fiction. I also put together a simple first-year cost comparison of a new H-1B employee, versus a typical EoR hire at the same level. Here’s what it all looks like:   🔷 The Facts ▪️ The new $100,000 fee is not a proposal, it was signed into proclamation by the President of the US on 21st September 2025. ▪️ The new fee will only apply to new petitions filed after midday on 21st September 2025. ▪️ It does not apply to current H-1B visa holders or renewals. ▪️ It is a one-time fee per petition, so it will not apply to renewals. ▪️ The proclamation is currently set to expire on 20th September 2026, unless it is extended, challenged in the courts or changed in an way. 🔷 Who Pays What? Mandatory Employer-Paid Fees: ▪️ New proclamation fee: $100,000 ▪️ Filing fee: $460 ▪️ Training fee: $750–$1,500 (depends on company size) ▪️ Fraud prevention fee: $500 ▪️ Public Law fee: $4,000 (for large, H-1B heavy firms) Optional Employer/Employee fees: ▪️ Premium Processing: $2,805 ▪️ Dependents visas: $370 to $500 ▪️ Travel & Relocation costs 🔷 The Outcome So the new cost of a H-1B visa to the employer is approximately $106,000 in the first year, in addition to salary, benefits and other hiring costs. The new fee does not apply to renewals. 🔷 Remote Comparison Armed with this information, I decided to do a quick comparison of the overall cost of hiring a mid-level software engineer (Level 2/3) in Silicon Valley requiring a H-1B visa, by comparison to hiring remotely, using a direct talent marketplace and employer of record solution. I have based it on the average remote salary cost in a large city in India, as over 70% of H-1B visa holders come from India. Here’s what it looks like: Software Engineer requiring H-1B visa. Total Cost 1st Year: c$313,000 ▪️ H-1B visa petition: c$106,000 ▪️ Annual Salary c$180,000 (Level 2/3) ▪️ Hiring Cost c$27,000 (15% agency fee)   Software Engineer working remotely via EoR. Total Cost 1st year: c$42,300 ▪️ Visa costs: $0.00 ▪️ Annual Salary c$36,000 (Level 2/3) ▪️ Hiring Cost c$300 (direct marketplace) ▪️ EoR Cost c$6,000 (per year)   Although there are some early signs of a slowdown in new petitions recently, it is far too early to tell how companies will react. If you are a hiring manager or a H-1B candidate affected by these changes, I’d love to hear your story or thoughts in the comments….  #H1BVisa #RemoteHiring #TechTalent #GlobalTalent