$100,000 H-1B Fee Remains Blocked by Federal Courts
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The $100,000 supplemental payment requirement for certain H-1B petitions remains blocked despite the Administration's September 18, 2026 extension of the underlying proclamation through September 2027.
The court rulings
A federal court in Massachusetts previously invalidated the fee. On September 30, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a separate injunction preventing USCIS and other agencies from enforcing the policies implementing the fee until required rulemaking procedures are completed.
Where things stand
The government has appealed, so the litigation remains ongoing. For now, USCIS is not collecting the $100,000 payment.
A separate proposed fee
DHS is separately pursuing a proposed fee of approximately $103,265 through formal notice-and-comment rulemaking. That is a different instrument with a different history: its comment period closed on September 24, 2026 and no final rule has been published, so it is not in effect either. See DHS Proposes $103,265 Fee for Certain H-1B Petitions.
How this fits with our earlier coverage
Three of our posts cover this payment, and each describes a different moment.
- June 2026: a federal court in Massachusetts vacated the guidance that implemented the payment.
- September 2026: a proclamation extended the entry restrictions and the payment requirement through September 2027.
- This page is the current position: the proclamation stands, the machinery for collecting the payment does not, and the appeal is pending.
If you read only one, read this one. The other two are the record of how the position was reached.
Last reviewed: November 8, 2026.