NEWS | NSBA Advocates for Small Business Owners Amidst Changing H-1B Requirements

NSBA members and small-business owners must not unfairly bear the brunt of worker policy shifts and remain at the forefront of conversation as new H-1B policies and requirement take continue to take shape.

On September 19, President Trump signed a Proclamation restricting the entry into the U.S. of certain H-1B aliens as nonimmigrant workers and requiring a $100,000 payment to accompany or supplement H-1B petitions for new applications. President Trump described the measure as the first step in his Administration's initiative to reform the visa program to "curb abuses and protect American workers."

Introduced in 1990, the H-1B visa program allows U.S. employers to hire skilled foreign workers in fields where qualified American workers are not available (e.g., in technology - "computer-related" occupations accounted for about 65% of H-1B approvals in fiscal year 2023). 

Under President Trump's Proclamation, a $100,000 one-time fee will now apply to new H-1B visa petitions filed after September 21, 2025. Prior to this Proclamation, the typical fee for an H-1B visa petition ranged from $2,000-$5,000, depending on the size of the employer and the specific components of the petition, not including additional costs such as the $215 H-1B lottery registration fee and $780 petition filing fee. 

Moreover, pursuant to President Trump's Proclamation, U.S. companies will be responsible for payment of the $100,000 fee, which does not apply to current visa holders or renewals. As such, small businesses may bear the brunt of the burden of increased costs for hiring skilled foreign talent. 

The H-1B program remains capped at 65,000 visas per year, with an additional 20,000 for advanced-degree holders. 

Going forward, President Trump said he also plans to direct the Department of Labor (DOL) to initiate a rulemaking to raise current wage levels for H-1B workers, though, a similar effort undertaken during the first Trump Administration was blocked by federal courts for procedural reasons.

Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appears poised to issue proposed regulations that would do away with the randomized lottery to allocate H-1B visas and to instead prioritize high-skilled, high-paid foreign workers.

NSBA data clearly shows that small companies face a shortage of the skilled labor they need to continue to drive America’s economy forward. While we understand—and support—efforts to end abuses of the U.S. immigration system, we are concerned that this new payment will exceed the means of many—if not most—small companies and exacerbate existing high-skill and STEM hiring difficulties.

NSBA is calling for the inclusion of a small-business exemption to ensure accesses to needed workers. Furthermore, mandated wage increases and prioritizing high-wage earning positions also will have an unfair burden on small businesses that don’t have the bankrolls held by major corporations.

As the nation's first and only truly nonpartisan small-business advocacy association, NSBA looks forward to working with the Administration to ensure the nation's most important economic community remains protected and at the forefront of conversations and considerations as policies evolve and regulations become formalized.