H-1B visa fees are now rising to $100,000 per visa, due to an executive order signed by President Donald J. Trump. Credit: Jack Westerheide | Lantern File Photo
Employers like Ohio State may have to pay six figures to the federal government to hire new non-American citizens who apply for H-1B visas.
Ohio State was the second highest petitioner for H-1B visas in Ohio last fiscal year, according to data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, with 161 beneficiaries approved. Ohio State paid fees ranging from just under $2,000 to just over $5,000 per visa under the old rules, according to the Office of International Affairs.
Those fees would jump to $100,000 each under a Sept. 19 executive order signed by President Donald J. Trump, which requires the amount to be paid by all United States employers when filing petitions for H-1B visa applicants.
H-1Bs are temporary visas that grant foreign professionals who hold a bachelor’s degree or higher and are highly trained in areas such as engineering, mathematics, technology and medical sciences, to work within the United States in their specialized fields.
It’s not clear what the university will do with this change.
Chris Booker, university spokesperson, said in an email that departments at the university, including the Offices of Legal Affairs and International Affairs are “actively exploring impacts,” and that “Ohio State will continue to share guidance as soon as it’s available.”
The executive order will expire after 12 months unless it is renewed.
The White House stated in its official fact sheet that the order was to “curb abuses that displace U.S. workers and undermine national security.”
The visas are valid for three years and can be extended to a maximum of six years. Additionally, fees must be paid to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) by the employer during the applicant’s registration process, according to the American Immigration Council.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph B. Edlow wrote in a Sept. 20 memo that the new fees under the executive order will only apply to applicants who had not already filed by the Sept. 21 deadline, and do not affect any current visa holder or applicant.
César García Hernández, a law professor and Gregory H. Williams Chair in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in the Moritz College of Law, said that for most employers, the $100,000 fee is not achievable, and that the Trump administration is “well aware of that.”
García Hernández said that he is worried that a key impact of the fee is that it will make the United States a “less attractive destination” for professionals internationally. He also said that this is destructive to the U.S. as it restricts the universities opportunity to grab international talent.
“That’s a detriment to those of us who are in the United States and who want universities and other businesses to be able to tap the best and the brightest from around the world,” García Hernández said. “To enrich not only the lives of students, but to enrich the economic vibrancy of our communities and of the nation, and to continue the long tradition of wealth creation that universities have been have played a central role in going back more or less a century.”
More information about H-1B visas at Ohio State can be found at the Office of International Affairs website.
