On Sept. 19, President Donald Trump’s Administration published a proclamation that significantly increased the cost for employers to sponsor highly skilled foreign workers on H-1B visas. Employers are now required to pay an additional $100,000 fee per application, in addition to the existing $2,000-$5,000 processing and training fees.
This new fee will specifically impact research universities, as many universities, including the University of Michigan, use H-1B visas to hire global talent for research opportunities. The University hired 359 people this year under H-1B visas, the second-highest among research universities after Stanford University, which hired 500 workers in 2025.
An H-1B visa allows non-American citizens to work in the United States for three to six years in a job that requires specialized skills. However, the Trump administration’s proclamation states H-1B visas are often abused and enable high-demand industries to hire foreign workers at lower wages, thereby displacing U.S. graduates.
The fee took effect at 12:01 a.m. Sept. 21 and will last through Sept. 21, 2026, unless federal agencies recommend an extension. The proclamation does not affect current H-1B visa holders, renewals or those who filed before the effective start date.
The University’s Office of Public Affairs released a statement highlighting the importance of H-1B visas in maintaining global competitiveness. It stated that the University will continue to provide updates regarding the new restrictions.
“At U-M, the H-1B program is an essential tool for maintaining global competitiveness in research and education,” the statement reads. “The program allows us to attract and retain the world’s top talent—scholars, researchers, staff, and faculty members—who drive innovation and advance knowledge in critical fields.”
In an email to The Michigan Daily, Rackham student Briana Garcia, who is currently working toward her PhD in political science and government, wrote the new fee will have a significant impact on the opportunities available to the University’s international students who wish to remain in the U.S. and pursue research.
“This change could lead to fewer opportunities for students,” Garcia wrote. “Particularly those involved in research departments or labs that might have previously hired international students under H-1B sponsorship, may now face greater financial strain and become more selective about who they hire, given the substantial additional cost associated with each visa.”
In an interview with The Daily, LSA senior Robert Marionsims, president of Students of Color interested in Law, Government, Policy and Social Justice, said this new fee could impact the intellectual diversity of the University.
“I see fewer international students selecting to come to (the University) in future years,” Marionsims said. “That will harm the intellectual and demographic diversity at the University, which I think are two aspects of Michigan that make it great. It’s one of the more diverse universities in terms of where people come from in the world.”
Marionsims also said while the $100,000 increase is a significant change that could harm intellectual capacity, the proclamation presents an opportunity to boost wages and job opportunities for American workers.
“Especially in the tech sector, we’ve seen the highest increasing unemployment numbers for new and recent grads,” Marionsims said. “I think this change could potentially be good for American graduates –– obviously, at the cost of harming international students.”
Garcia wrote while many Americans share that mindset, it could potentially cause harmful rhetoric surrounding immigrants and foreign workers.
“If some Americans adopt the (Trump) administration’s framing that H-1B visas are being overused to hire cheaper labor from abroad, this could reinforce negative perceptions toward immigrants and foreign workers in the skilled labor market,” Garcia wrote. “Immigrants and individuals on work visas may increasingly be viewed as ‘taking jobs from Americans,’ regardless of the actual labor market realities.”
There are growing concerns regarding the constitutionality of this new fee. Several coalitions filed a lawsuit against the proclamation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. They say the Trump administration lacks authority under immigration law to impose a visa fee, since Congress sets those rules.
In an interview with The Daily, Law School professor Margo Schlanger stated this proclamation constitutes a clear violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies create and enforce rules and regulations.
“The Administrative Procedure Act forbids agencies from changing rules in ways that are ‘arbitrary and capricious,’ meaning that they are not fully considered and do not take into account the arguments against the change,” Schlanger said. “This fee could practically be defined as ‘arbitrary and capricious.’”
Daily Staff Reporter Gia Verma can be reached at giaverma@umich.edu.
