The proposed $103,000 H-1B fee would generate $9 billion in revenue.
Posted by Bulwark Takes, Checked
- Sources
- 3 support3 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 70%
Bulwark TakesAug 29, 2026
The claim's $9 billion figure is a rounding of DHS's own estimate that the proposed $103,265 fee would generate about $8.8 billion annually, and the extraction faithfully reflects the post's wording. The $103,000 figure is a rounding of $103,265, and the claim is about the proposed fee as of 2026-08-29, which matches the August 24-25 proposal.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… They're going to get sued. They're probably going to get enjoined. So they obviously, they wanted their $100,000 fee, so they, like, very rapidly and frantically made up a rationalization for it. But now, when you apply the math, it means that's a $9 billion revenue source for an agency that only has a $6 billion budget. So they're like, no, no, no, no, we're going to give some to ICE, which is clearly strapped right now after getting all the money you could possibly hope for from taxpayers. …
Bulwark Takes · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. DHS's USCIS release estimates the proposed fee would generate approximately $8.8 billion annually, based on 85,000 cap-subject petitions.[2]
Supports. The Federal Register proposed rule sets a $103,265 fee for all H-1B cap-subject petitions, and Fortune reports the same $8.8 billion annual DHS estimate.[3][4]
Context. Bloomberg Government reports a projected $8.7 billion in annual revenue, and a public comment letter disputes the employer-payment assumption behind the revenue projections.[5][6]
Context. The $9 billion figure is a rounded projection of a proposed fee rather than actual collections, and the $100,000 fee had produced only $8.5 million in revenue by mid-February 2026 according to AP.[1]
Sources
6 sources: 1 fact-checker, 2 primary, 3 not rated
- 1What to know about Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee and the legal rebuke that followedapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2DHS Proposes Additional H-1B Feeuscis.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 3Fee for Certain H-1B Petitionsfederalregister.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 4The Trump administration proposes $103,000 fee for H1-B visas that DHS itself estimates would paralyze 76% of small businesses | Fortunefortune.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Trump H-1B Fee Proposal Tees Up Fight Over Congress ...news.bgov.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 6Public comment: Proposed $103k fee for H-1B petitions 2026niskanencenter.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The administration is proposing a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applicants.True
- The Department of Homeland Security issued a regulation proposing a $103,000 fee for H-1B workers.True
- The administration attempted to impose a $100,000 fee on people applying for H-1B visas.True
- The administration is proposing a $100,000 fee for the Optional Practical Training program.Mixed
- President Trump signed a proclamation last fall using the same authority as the Muslim ban to block H-1B applicants unless they paid a $100,000 fee.True