Will the $100,000 H-1B Fee Come Back When Proclamation 10973 Expires

The $100,000 H-1B fee is vacated and the proclamation that created it sunsets September 20, but a bigger replacement is already moving through DHS rulemaking.

If you searched this because you saw a headline about the H-1B fee "expiring" on September 20, here is the short answer: as of 2026-09-12, the $100,000 fee created by Presidential Proclamation 10973 is not being collected. A Massachusetts federal court vacated it on 2026-06-08, and the First Circuit refused to pause that ruling on 2026-07-24 (USCIS's own H-1B specialty occupations page confirms both the fee requirement and the current vacatur). The proclamation's own 12-month clock is separately set to run out around September 20-21, 2026. Neither of those facts means the fee is gone for good — DHS has already proposed a new, larger fee through ordinary rulemaking, and that is the version worth watching.

This post untangles four things that keep getting collapsed into one story: the vacated fee, the expiring proclamation, the split court record, and the pending $103,265 rule that could outlive all of it.

The status, in one table

Immigration coverage on this topic tends to flatten four distinct legal states into "the fee is back" or "the fee is dead." Neither is accurate on its own. Here is where each piece actually stands as of 2026-09-12:

Two federal courts have now looked at the same $100,000 fee and reached different conclusions — one vacating it, one upholding it. That split record is itself a reason to treat "the fee is gone" as a snapshot, not a settled fact.

How we got here: the timeline

1. Proclamation 10973 is issued, creating a $100,000 fee tied to certain H-1B filings and framed as a 12-month measure.
2. A Massachusetts federal court vacates the fee on 2026-06-08, ruling against its enforcement.
3. The government asks the First Circuit to stay that vacatur so the fee can keep being collected while the appeal plays out. The First Circuit denies the stay on 2026-07-24, meaning the fee stays vacated for now.
4. A separate case, Chamber of Commerce v. DHS in D.D.C., upholds the original proclamation on 2026-12-23 — an outcome that conflicts with the Massachusetts ruling and keeps the underlying legal question unresolved.
5. DHS proposes a new $103,265 fee on 2026-08-25, this time through standard notice-and-comment rulemaking rather than a presidential proclamation. Comments are open through 2026-09-24.
6. Proclamation 10973's own 12-month window lapses around 2026-09-20/21, unless something changes before then.

Notice what step 5 tells you about DHS's strategy: it is not simply waiting to see if the proclamation gets renewed. It opened an entirely separate rulemaking track for a larger fee. A proclamation can be issued and rescinded unilaterally and is easier to challenge in court on procedural grounds, which is part of why the original fee is currently vacated. A rule adopted through notice-and-comment rulemaking is generally harder to unwind quickly once finalized, which is why the $103,265 proposal — not the fate of Proclamation 10973 itself — is the detail worth tracking closely.

Why a proclamation and a rulemaking are not the same thing

This distinction explains almost everything confusing about this story:

• A proclamation is a presidential directive. It can move fast and be withdrawn or left to expire just as fast, which is part of why a court found it vulnerable to challenge.
• A rule adopted via notice-and-comment rulemaking goes through a formal public process — publication in the Federal Register, a defined comment window, and (for anything finalized) a response to significant comments — before it takes effect. It carries more procedural weight and is harder to vacate on the same grounds that felled the proclamation's fee.

That is the throughline in our explainer on which H-1B executive orders and proclamations are currently in effect: proclamations move fast, but the more durable rules are the ones going through ordinary rulemaking, and that is exactly the track the $103,265 proposal is on.

What the $103,265 proposal means for you right now

Because it is a proposed rule with the comment period still open through 2026-09-24, nothing changes for your petition today because of this proposal alone. What you can do:

• If you or your employer wants to weigh in, public comments on a proposed rule are a real part of the process — see how to submit a comment on an H-1B fee rule for the mechanics.
• Do not budget, negotiate an offer, or make a filing decision around a specific dollar figure from a proposed rule. It can change between proposal and any final version, or not be finalized at all.
• Ask your employer's immigration counsel which fee framework — if any — applies to your specific petition type and timing. Fee applicability by petition type has been a recurring source of confusion; see what's actually true about the $100,000 fee and what's true for transfers specifically for petition-type nuance, and confirm anything relevant with counsel before you rely on it.

For a closer read of the new proposal's mechanics and how it differs from the original proclamation, see our breakdown of the proposed $103,265 fee.

If you already paid, or your employer is asking you to

Because the fee is currently vacated, you should not be asked to pay $100,000 under Proclamation 10973 today. If an employer, a staffing firm, or anyone else tells you that you personally owe this fee, that does not match the current legal status and is worth raising with a licensed immigration attorney immediately — filing fees for an H-1B petition are the petitioning employer's legal obligation, not the worker's, regardless of which fee framework ends up applying. For the fuller history of how the litigation unfolded, including the earlier stages before the vacatur, see our timeline of the H-1B $100,000 fee lawsuit.

If the fee framework changes and you're weighing alternatives

Some candidates facing fee uncertainty have asked whether routes like O-1 or a national interest waiver make more sense than waiting on H-1B fee litigation to resolve. That is a case-by-case legal and career question, not something to decide from a blog post — see the O-1/NIW comparison against H-1B fee uncertainty for the tradeoffs, and talk to an immigration attorney about your specific qualifications before choosing a path.

Common mistakes

• Treating "vacated" as "repealed forever." A vacatur blocks enforcement while litigation continues; it is not the same as Congress or DHS permanently withdrawing the underlying authority. The split outcome between the Massachusetts case and Chamber of Commerce v. DHS shows the legal question is still open.
• Assuming the proclamation's sunset date settles anything. Proclamation 10973 lapsing around September 20-21, 2026 does not by itself tell you what happens to H-1B fees afterward — DHS's separate rulemaking is the more consequential development.
• Quoting the $103,265 figure as a current, in-effect fee. It is a proposed number in an open comment period as of 2026-09-24. Nothing requires the final rule, if one issues, to keep that exact figure.
• Paying a fee you were told is required without confirming its legal status first. With the underlying fee vacated and a new rule only proposed, anyone asking you personally to cover a large H-1B fee right now deserves scrutiny — and a call to an attorney.
• Relying on a single article or social post instead of the primary sources. Given the split court record here, check the Federal Register notice, the USCIS fee page, and the appellate docket directly, or ask counsel to interpret them for you.

Frequently asked questions

Is the $100,000 H-1B fee still in effect right now? No. It was vacated by a Massachusetts federal court on 2026-06-08, and the First Circuit denied the government's stay request on 2026-07-24, so it is not currently being collected. Confirm the live status with your employer's counsel before relying on this, since litigation postures can change.

Will Proclamation 10973 be renewed when it expires on September 20? As of 2026-09-12, no formal extension or reissuance had been announced. DHS instead appears focused on a separate rulemaking track for a new fee, which is a more durable process than reissuing a proclamation.

What is the new $103,265 H-1B fee DHS proposed? DHS published this fee proposal on 2026-08-25 through standard notice-and-comment rulemaking, with the comment period closing 2026-09-24. It is a proposed rule, not a final one, so it is not currently in effect and its terms could change.

Does the vacated $100,000 fee affect my H-1B transfer or extension? The fee is currently vacated across the board while litigation continues, but petition-type nuances and the pending replacement rule both matter to your specific filing. Ask your employer's immigration attorney to confirm what applies before you file or pay anything.

How do I keep track of whether this fee comes back? Watch the Federal Register for any final rule tied to the $103,265 proposal, the USCIS H-1B fee page, and the appellate docket in the case that vacated the original fee. Route interpretation of what any of these mean for your case to a licensed immigration attorney, not a summary article.

Where this leaves you

Nothing here requires you to do anything differently today: the fee everyone panicked about is not being collected, and the number that might replace it is still just a proposal with a comment period open through 2026-09-24. What it does require is not repeating stale claims to your own employer or on forums — "the fee expires September 20" and "the fee is $103,265" are both incomplete without the dates and case posture attached. If your own filing, offer, or timeline depends on how this resolves, get that read from a licensed immigration attorney who can track the docket and the rulemaking in real time, not from a blog post.

If you're navigating a job search on OPT, STEM OPT, or H-1B while this kind of policy uncertainty plays out in the background, F1Jobs can help you keep your search moving without losing sight of your own deadlines.