Author: Lisa York

On October 20, 2025, USCIS issued further guidance on who is subject to the $100,000 H-1B fee, who is not subject to the fee, as well as information on how to pay the $100,000 fee and qualify for an exemption.

Who is subject?

– New H-1B petitions filed on or after September 21, 2025 on behalf of beneficiaries who are outside the US and do not have a valid H-1B visa are subject to the $100,000 fee. 

-New H-1B petitions filed on or after September 21, 2025, that request consular notification, port of entry notification, or pre-flight inspections for a beneficiary currently  in the US are subject to the $100,000 fee.

-H-1B petitions filed on or after 9/21/25 that request a change of status, amendment, or extension of stay where USCIS determines that the beneficiary has not been maintaining status or is otherwise ineligible to change or extend status in the US are subject to the $100,000 fee.

-No exemption for cap-exempt petitioners.

Does not apply to:

-Does not apply to beneficiaries who were in valid H-1B status or any H-1B petitions submitted before 9/21/2025. 

-Does not prevent beneficiaries with current H-1B visas from traveling in and out of the U.S.

-Does not apply to any previously issued and currently valid H-1B visas or any H-1B petitions filed before 9/21/2025.

-Does not apply to beneficiaries whose H-1B petitions have been approved on or after 9/21, who then leave the US to apply for an H-1B visa at a consular office abroad.

How to pay the $100,000 payment:

Petitioners should submit the required $100,000 payment using pay.gov, following the instructions on pay.gov at the following link:

https://www.pay.gov/public/form/start/1772005176

When to pay the $100,000 payment:

Payment must be made prior to filing a petition with USCIS, as petitioners must submit proof that the payment has been scheduled from pay.gov or evidence of an exception from the $100,000 payment from the Secretary of Homeland Security at the time of filing the H-1B petition. Petitions subject to the $100,000 payment that are filed without a copy of the proof of the payment from pay.gov or evidence of an exception from the Secretary of Homeland Security will be denied.

Exceptions granted by the Secretary of Homeland Security:

Exceptions to the $100,000 payment are granted by the Secretary of Homeland Security in the extraordinarily rare circumstance where the Secretary has determined that a particular alien worker’s presence in the United States as an H-1B worker is in the national interest, that no American worker is available to fill the role, that the alien worker does not pose a threat to the security or welfare of the United States, and that requiring the petitioning employer to make the payment on the alien’s behalf would significantly undermine the interests of the United States. Petitioning employers who believe their alien worker satisfies this high threshold may seek an exception by sending their request and all supporting evidence to H1BExceptions@hq.dhs.gov.

For more information go to the USCIS H-1B Specialty Occupations website:

H-1B Specialty Occupations | USCIS

There have now been at least two lawsuits filed to stop USCIS from imposing the $100,000 fee on H-1B petitions.  As the courts consider the legality of this Proclamation, we anticipate additional information to be forthcoming.  Stay tuned! 

The new DHS Alien Registration Requirement, effective April 11, 2025, requires all non-US citizens in the US for over 30 days to register with DHS and carry proof of registration. Failure to carry evidence of registration at all times may result in a criminal misdemeanor conviction, which includes 30 days to 6 months of jail time and a fine of $5,000.00. Additionally, those who fail to carry evidence of registration with them at all times may be deportable from the United States and may be ineligible for US immigration benefits.

Those who are over 14 years old, have one of the documents listed below, and have been fingerprinted; have already registered, and have evidence of their registration. They must keep one of the following documents in their personal possession at all times:

• I-551 Permanent Resident Card
• Form I-94 (Current or Expired) – Can be printed from the USCBP I-94 website at I-94 Official Website – Home Page
• I-765 Employment Authorization Card (EAD)
• Border Crossing Card (Form I-186 Mexican or Form I-185 Canadian)
• Valid Unexpired Non-immigrant DHS Admission or Parole Stamp in a Foreign Passport – A valid unexpired admission stamp (or I-551 stamp) in a foreign passport (the stamp can be in an expired passport)
• Form I-862 or I-863 Notice to Appear (NTA)/Notice of Referral to Immigration Judge

Non-US Citizens 14 Years of Age or Younger:

• Individuals aged 14 and older: Non-US citizens who were not fingerprinted or registered when applying for a US visa and who plan to stay in the US for 30 days or longer must register before May 11, 2025.
• Children under 14: Parents or legal guardians must register their children who were not registered upon visa application and who will remain in the US for 30 days or longer before May 11, 2025.
• Previously registered children turning 14: They must re-register and provide fingerprints within 30 days after their 14th birthday

Failure to Timely Change US Address

All non-US citizens required to register with DHS must notify DHS of each change of address within 10 days. Failure to comply may result in a criminal misdemeanor conviction, which includes 30 days to 6 months of jail time and a fine of $5,000.00. Additionally, those who fail to timely change their address are deportable from the United States and may be ineligible for U.S. immigration benefits.

Please visit the USCIS Alien Registration Website at Alien Registration Requirement | USCIS for additional information about the registration requirement and how to register if required.

On Monday, October 14, 2024, USCIS provided additional guidance on the criteria used to adjudicate international travel applications (Advance Parole). USCIS clarified that travel-related expedite requests can be made in situations where USCIS processing times prevent timely adjudication and approval of the requested travel documents. USCIS indicated that, as long as the applicant timely filed their travel application, they will consider expedite requests in situations where there is a pressing or critical need to travel outside the United States for planned events such as work or professional commitments (including meetings, conferences, forums, seminars, or training), academic commitments (such as a study abroad program, research trip, forum, seminar, conference or practicum), or personal commitments (such as a wedding or graduation).

Without providing much notice, USCIS released a new Form I-131 on Friday, October 11, 2024.  Because there are major changes to the form, USCIS has announced that it will not accept the old edition of Form I-131 (April 1, 2024) on or after October 11, 2024.  We are hoping that USCIS provides some flexibility in accepting the prior edition of Form I-131 for a little while, but there is no guarantee that USCIS will accept the old version. The best advice is to submit the new edition of the form.

On Tuesday, June 18, 2024, the Biden Administration announced that DACA Recipients and other Dreamers who have earned a degree at an accredited U.S. institution of higher education and have an offer of employment from a U.S. employer in a field related to their degree will have an easier path to a U.S. work visa.  

The Biden administration stated, “Recognizing that it is in our national interest to ensure that individuals who are educated in the U.S. are able to use their skills and education to benefit our country, the Administration is taking action to facilitate the employment visa process for those who have graduated from college and have a high-skilled job offer, including DACA recipients and other Dreamers.”

Stay tuned!  There will be more information soon about these opportunities for Dreamers!

On Tuesday, June 18, 2024, the Biden Administration announced that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will allow certain noncitizen spouses & children of U.S. citizens to apply for a green card without having to leave the U.S.  if they have lived in the U.S. for 10 years or longer, do not pose a threat to public safety or national security, are otherwise eligible to obtain a green card in the U.S. and merit a favorable exercise of discretion.  DHS estimates that approximately 500,000 people who, on average, have lived in the U.S. for 23 years, could benefit from this process. 

To be considered on a case-by-case basis for this process, an individual must:  

• Be present in the United States without admission or parole;

• Have been continuously present in the United States for at least 10 years as of June 17, 2024; and

• Have a legally valid marriage to a U.S. citizen as of June 17, 2024.

In addition, individuals must have no disqualifying criminal history or otherwise constitute a threat to national security or public safety and should otherwise merit a favorable exercise of discretion. Noncitizen children of potential requestors may also be considered for parole under this process if they are physically present in the United States without admission or parole and have a qualifying stepchild relationship with a U.S. citizen as of June 17, 2024.

Upon receipt of a properly filed parole-in-place request, USCIS will determine on a case-by-case basis whether a grant of parole is warranted and whether the applicant merits a favorable exercise of discretion. All requests will take into consideration the potential requestor’s previous immigration history, criminal history, the results of background checks and national security and public safety vetting, and any other relevant information available to or requested by USCIS. USCIS has strong processes in place to identify and address potential fraud, which will be applied here to ensure the integrity of this program.

Stay tuned!  There will be more information soon about this new process!

On June 4, 2024, President Biden issued a Presidential Proclamation that went into immediate effect at the border.  The order severely limits an individual’s ability to claim asylum at the border.  Asylum grants individuals the right to stay in the U.S. based on fear of persecution at home because of one’s race, nationality, political opinion, membership in a particular social group, or religious beliefs. The Presidential Proclamation allows the U.S. government to refuse to accept asylum claims from people arriving at the border during any period of time when there has been an average of more than 2,500 people encountered at the border over a 7-day period.  The asylum ban remains in place until 14 days after another 7-day period in which the average number of encounters at the border falls below 1,500.   Given these metrics, it is likely that the ban on applying for asylum at the border will last for a long time and possibly be an indefinite ban.  There will be legal challenges asserting that this Proclamation violates U.S. and international asylum law. 

The U.S. Department of State predicts that heavy demand for immigrant visas this fiscal year will cause additional backlogs in the worldwide (including Mexico and Philippines) employment-based 1st and 3rd preference categories starting in July 2024. For June 2024, the employment-based worldwide, Mexico and Philippines 1st preference categories are current (meaning no waitlist for immigrant visas); while the employment-based worldwide, Mexico and Philippines 3rd preference categories have cut-off dates of November 22, 2022 (meaning that only intending immigrants with a priority date earlier than November 22, 2022, can proceed with their immigrant visa applications). There are at least 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas available each fiscal year. The U.S. Department of State uses complicated statistical modeling to try and allocate all available visas throughout the fiscal year by monitoring usage monthly. If usage is heavy during the fiscal year, there are often backlogs in visa categories over the summer. Once the new fiscal year starts on October 1st and the next round of immigrant visas becomes available, those backlogs often (but not always) clear out.

This afternoon, USCIS announced that it had finished the process of notifying the winners of the H-1B Visa Lottery. All those “selected” to proceed, must file their H-1B petitions by June 30, 2024. Later in the summer, if USCIS determines that there are still H-1B visas available for this fiscal year, USCIS will initiate another round of “selections.”