Status of the H-1B $100,000 payment and the proposed $103,265 fee

What Proclamation 10973 required

Proclamation 10973, "Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers," was issued on September 19, 2025 and took effect on September 21, 2025. It restricted the entry of certain H-1B workers unless the petition was accompanied or supplemented by a $100,000 payment, with very limited exceptions. It covered petitions filed on or after September 21, 2025 and before September 21, 2026. According to Proclamation 11069, the payment was made for more than 700 petitions.

On October 20, 2025, USCIS updated its guidance. As the Northern District of California later summarized it, USCIS said the payment applied to new H-1B petitions filed after the effective date for beneficiaries outside the United States without a valid H-1B visa. It also applied to beneficiaries inside the United States if USCIS found them ineligible for a change of status, amendment or extension of stay. The payment was made through pay.gov before filing. Exceptions were left to the Secretary of Homeland Security in what USCIS called an "extraordinarily rare circumstance."

The extension: Proclamation 11069

Proclamation 11069 of September 18, 2026 (91 FR 60497) extends the 2025 proclamation for 12 months, until 12:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on September 21, 2027. The payment applies to petitions for H-1B workers who are currently outside the United States. The entry restriction covers workers who must seek admission to put an approved petition into effect, for example through consular notification or notification at a port of entry. Employers filing for a worker outside the United States must obtain and keep proof of payment before filing. The Secretary of Homeland Security may exempt an individual, a company's workers or an industry in the national interest.

The Northern District of California noted that Proclamation 11069 does not appear to change the substance of the 2025 proclamation or the $100,000 payment.

Court decisions so far

Washington, D.C.

The district court found that the President acted within his authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act and that the agency policies did not violate the Administrative Procedure Act. The appeal was argued on March 9, 2026, and the D.C. Circuit has not issued an opinion.

Massachusetts

Twenty states brought the case, first captioned California v. Noem. The court vacated the agency policies that implement the payment. USCIS says the order was administratively stayed while the government asked the First Circuit for a stay pending appeal. On July 24, 2026 the First Circuit denied that request, finding that the government had not made a "strong showing" that it was likely to win. The appeal itself is still pending.

Northern California

The court found that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claim that the agencies should have gone through notice-and-comment rulemaking. It vacated the agency policies and barred the agencies from enforcing them under Proclamation 10973 or its extension in Proclamation 11069 until that rulemaking is done. The court refused to stay its order pending appeal. The government appealed on October 9, 2026, and the Ninth Circuit set a preliminary-injunction briefing schedule, with the opening brief due November 6, 2026 and the answering brief due December 4, 2026.

Does USCIS collect the payment today?

USCIS's H-1B Cap Season page (last updated November 9, 2026) carries an alert about the Massachusetts order. It says DHS disagrees with the First Circuit's ruling "but will comply with the court's order while DHS considers next steps," and adds: "If this order is later lifted, DHS still plans to collect the payment." The same alert appears on other USCIS H-1B pages. None of them mentions the Northern California order or Proclamation 11069.

The same Cap Season page still says, in its own Required Fees paragraph, that the Proclamation "requires certain H-1B petitions filed at or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern on Sept. 21, 2025, to be accompanied by an additional $100,000 payment." The USCIS fee schedule, Form G-1055 (edition 10/26/26), still lists the $100,000 payment as an additional Form I-129 fee paid through pay.gov before filing, with no reference to the court orders. The three USCIS sources therefore do not match.

In its September 30 order, the Northern California court described the effect of the Massachusetts ruling this way: "the $100,000 fee is no longer in effect."

The proposed $103,265 fee

The $103,265 fee is a separate DHS proposal, "Fee for Certain H-1B Petitions" (91 FR 54817, August 25, 2026), with a correction to one table published on September 10, 2026. The proposed rule text (91 FR 54839) reads: "The following additional fee is required for all H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption under section 214(g)(5)(C) of the Act: $103,265."

Under the proposal:

• The employer filing the petition would pay the fee when the petition is filed, not the worker and not at registration.
• The fee would come on top of all other fees, and on top of the $100,000 payment where that payment applies.
• It would not apply to petitions that are not subject to the cap.
• The proposed text has no exception for workers already in the United States.

Comments closed on September 24, 2026. The proposal sets no effective date. As of November 11, 2026, the Federal Register lists only the proposal and its correction.

A proposed rule does not change any fee by itself. The fee would apply only after DHS publishes a final rule, and under the Administrative Procedure Act a substantive rule generally takes effect no sooner than 30 days after publication. The current H-1B registration fee of $215 is a separate fee, and the proposal does not change it.

What this means for H1B Math

The H1B Math calculator does not include any fee in its odds. When the candidate is outside the United States, the result shows a short notice on the status of the $100,000 payment. The FY2027 selection data the estimates are calibrated on comes from a season when the payment was in place: Proclamation 11069 attributes the FY2027 shift toward higher wage levels to the $100,000 payment and the weighted selection process together. This page is general information, not legal advice, and an immigration attorney can advise on whether and when to file in a specific case.

Sources

• Proclamation 11069, Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers The White House, 91 FR 60497, signed September 18, 2026, published September 23, 2026; recap of Proclamation 10973, extension, scope, FY2027 effects
• Fee for Certain H-1B Petitions, proposed rule U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 91 FR 54817, August 25, 2026; footnote 3 on the scope and dates of Proclamation 10973 and the Massachusetts case, proposed 8 CFR 106.2(a)(3)(xii), coverage, comment deadline
• Fee for Certain H-1B Petitions, correction U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 91 FR 57516, September 10, 2026
• Federal Register search: RIN 1615-AD20 searched November 11, 2026; only the proposed rule and its correction
• Global Nurse Force v. Trump, order of September 30, 2026, ECF 130 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 4:25-cv-08454-HSG; summary of the D.D.C. and D. Mass. decisions, the October 20, 2025 USCIS update, vacatur, injunction, stay denial
• Global Nurse Force v. Trump, joint case management statement, ECF 142 parties' filing, October 20, 2026; status of the First Circuit and D.C. Circuit appeals, argument date of March 9, 2026
• Global Nurse Force v. Trump, Ninth Circuit docketing notice, ECF 138 Ninth Circuit No. 26-6667, October 9, 2026; briefing schedule
• California v. Mullin, order denying stay pending appeal U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, No. 26-1699, entered July 24, 2026
• State of California v. Noem, opinion of June 8, 2026 U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, No. 1:25-cv-13829, GovInfo record dated June 8, 2026
• Chamber of Commerce v. DHS, opinion of December 23, 2025 U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 1:25-cv-03675, GovInfo record dated December 23, 2025
• D.C. Circuit opinions by date, November 2026 U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; no opinion in No. 25-5473 through November 10, 2026
• H-1B Cap Season USCIS, last updated November 9, 2026; alert on the Massachusetts order and DHS compliance, Required Fees paragraph
• Presidential Proclamation on Restriction of Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers USCIS alert page, last updated June 15, 2026; same alert
• H-1B FAQ USCIS, last updated July 28, 2026; same alert
• Fee Schedule, Form G-1055 USCIS, edition 10/26/26; $100,000 line under Form I-129, $215 registration fee
• 5 U.S.C. 553, Rule making U.S. Code, GovInfo; publication of a substantive rule at least 30 days before its effective date

Related guides

• How the H-1B weighted lottery works The H-1B lottery now gives more entries to higher wage levels. This guide covers how the level is set, the two draws, the first weighted season and estimated FY2028 odds by level.
• How to find your H-1B wage level How the OFLC prevailing wage level for an H-1B registration is found from the job's SOC code, the work area and the offered wage, with a worked example and the special cases.
• FY2028 H-1B cap season timeline What is known about the FY2028 H-1B cap season: the rules for the registration window, the FY2027 dates as a reference, the registration fee and contents, and the wage table in effect.