Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, IMMIGRATION NEWS—USCIS announces annual H1-B cap reached, new fees under reconciliation bill, (Jul 21, 2025)

By Patricia K. Ruiz, J.D.

Fees imposed by HR-1 may not be waived or reduced, though fee waivers may still be utilized for DHS fees.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reached the congressionally mandated cap for H-1B visas, both regular and advanced degree exemption visas, for fiscal year (FY) 2026, according to a USCIS press release. Additionally, USCIS is publishing a notice in the Federal Register explaining a number of new fees it will be administering under recent legislation.

Visa caps. UCIS has reached the congressionally mandated cap of 65,000 regular H-1B visas and 20,000 advanced degree exemption H-1B visas for FY 2026. USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions otherwise exempt from the cap. Petitions filed for current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap and who still retain their cap number are exempt from the FY 2026 H-1B cap. Further, USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to: (1) extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the U.S.; (2) change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers; (3) allow current H-1B workers to change employers; and (4) allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in additional H-1B positions.

New fees. Title II of the House Concurrent Resolution 14 (HR-1) established specific fees for various immigration-related forms, benefits, statutes, petitions, applications, and requests administered by multiple government agencies. The USCIS notice explains which fees are administered by the USCIS, when the new fees take effect, instructions on their payment, when and if the fees may be waived, and consequences of the failure to pay. The fees include an asylum fee, employment authorization document fees, a temporary protected status fee, a special immigrant juvenile fee, and an annual asylum fee.

The new immigration fees imposed by HR-1 are in addition to any other DHS fees already authorized by law and regulation; the DHS fee and HR-1 fees must be submitted separately. Fees imposed by HR-1 cannot be waived or reduced and must be paid with each request submitted. However, DHS fee waivers may still be utilized for eligible applications. USCIS acknowledged that the portion of the HR-1 fees retained by USCIS will be in addition to the revenue it receives from the fees DHS determined previously were needed to recover the full costs of operating USCIS.

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