Higher Ed Institutions Raise Concerns About H-1B Visa Fee

"In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security last week, the American Council on Education argued that such individuals "contribute to groundbreaking research, provide medical services to underserved and vulnerable populations ... and enable language study, all of which are vital to U.S. national interests." Without them, ACE and 31 co-signers said, key jobs in high-demand sectors such as health care, information technology, education and finance will likely go unfilled."

"UCIS clarified that the fee will apply to any new H-1B petitions filed on or after Sept. 21, and it must be paid before the petition is filed. The update also referenced possible "exception[s] from the fee" but said those exceptions would only be granted in an "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.""

"The letter came just days after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services launched a new online payment website and provided an updated statement on policies surrounding the fee. ACE said that H-1B visa recipients in higher education certainly meet those standards, citing data from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources that shows that over 70 percent of international employees at colleges and universities hold tenure-track or tenured positions. The top five disciplines they work in are business, engineering, health professions, computer science and physicalsciences."

Higher education institutions and associations request exemption from a new $100,000 H-1B visa application fee, arguing the cost could harm recruitment and retention of international faculty, researchers, and staff. The American Council on Education and 31 co-signers noted international hires contribute to groundbreaking research, provide medical services to underserved populations, and enable language study, supporting U.S. national interests. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services clarified the fee applies to new H-1B petitions filed on or after Sept. 21 and must be paid before filing, with exceptions limited to extraordinarily rare national-interest determinations. CUPA-HR data shows over 70% of international college employees hold tenure-track or tenured positions across key disciplines, raising concerns that high-demand sector roles could go unfilled.

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