The $100,000 H-1B Fee Exemption for F-1 Students Changing Status Explained
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 27, 2026
The $100,000 H-1B fee applies to new petitions filed for workers outside the United States, not to F-1 students who change status to H-1B from inside the country. If your employer files your change of status while you stay in the US and USCIS approves it, the fee does not apply to you.
💵 The fee took effect September 21, 2025 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time, under a presidential proclamation.
🎓 F-1 students on OPT or STEM OPT who win the H-1B lottery and change status from inside the US stay exempt.
🛂 The fee targets H-1B petitions for beneficiaries abroad without a valid H-1B visa, plus consular or port-of-entry notification cases.
⚖️ Multiple federal lawsuits are challenging the fee, and a June 2026 court ruling has already put it on hold pending appeal, so this exemption landscape is not guaranteed to last unchanged.
What the Proclamation Actually Says
On September 19, 2025, the White House issued a proclamation titled "Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers," creating a $100,000 payment requirement tied to H-1B petitions. The restriction took effect September 21, 2025 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time. It blocks entry to certain H-1B workers unless the $100,000 payment has been made or DHS grants a national interest exception.
Who Actually Owes the Fee
USCIS guidance narrows the proclamation to specific situations. You owe the fee if your case is:
A new H-1B petition for a beneficiary who is outside the United States and does not already hold a valid H-1B visa.
A petition requesting consular notification or port-of-entry notification for a beneficiary currently outside the country.
A change-of-status petition where USCIS finds you ineligible, or where you leave the United States before USCIS decides the case.
Outside these situations, the fee does not apply, according to guidance summarized by Ogletree Deakins .
| Your situation | Fee status |
|---|---|
| F-1 student on OPT or STEM OPT, employer files change of status, you stay in the US | Exempt |
| You already hold a valid, unexpired H-1B visa | Exempt |
| H-1B petition filed before September 21, 2025 | Exempt |
| New H-1B petition for someone currently outside the US without a valid H-1B visa | Fee owed |
| Petition requests consular or port-of-entry notification for someone abroad | Fee owed |
| USCIS denies your change of status and your employer refiles for consular processing | Fee owed |
| You leave the US before USCIS decides your change-of-status case | Fee owed |
Why F-1 Students Changing Status Are Exempt
If you are on OPT or STEM OPT, get selected in the H-1B lottery, and your employer files a change-of-status petition while you stay inside the United States, the $100,000 fee does not apply to your case, as long as USCIS approves the petition. Yale's Office of International Students and Scholars summarizes USCIS guidance stating that H-1B cap lottery selections moving to change of status for the fiscal year 2027 H-1B cycle are not subject to the fee, since the proclamation targets entry from outside the country, and a change of status involves neither a consular interview nor a border crossing.
This exemption also covers other people already inside the United States: approved amendments, extensions, and changes of status for existing H-1B holders, and anyone with a valid, unexpired H-1B visa. The dividing line is not your nationality or your degree field. It is whether you are entering the country on the new petition or already inside it.
Where the Fee Still Reaches You
Two situations still expose an F-1 student to the fee even after a successful lottery selection. If USCIS denies your change-of-status petition and your employer refiles for consular processing, that new filing counts as a petition for a beneficiary abroad. If you leave the United States before USCIS decides your change-of-status case, for example to visit home during a processing delay, you shift into the category that owes the fee. Talk to your employer's immigration counsel before any international travel while a change of status is pending.
The Legal Challenge
The proclamation has faced multiple federal lawsuits. A Massachusetts district court vacated the fee on June 8, 2026 in a case brought by a coalition of states led by California, ruling it functions as an unauthorized tax. The First Circuit denied the government's request to pause that ruling on July 24, 2026, so the fee is not currently being enforced for new H-1B petitions needing consular processing. Separately, a D.C. district court upheld the fee on December 23, 2025 in the Chamber of Commerce/AAU case, a ruling now on appeal. The legal fight remains unresolved and could reach the Supreme Court. Treat the current exemption rules as the operating guidance today, and check USCIS's H-1B specialty occupations page before you file, since litigation outcomes shift the requirements without warning.
If You Think You Need a National Interest Exception
The proclamation lets DHS grant a national interest exception to waive the fee even in cases that would otherwise owe it. This exception is not automatic and is not the same as the F-1 change-of-status exemption described above. Employers route exception requests to DHS at H1BExceptions@hq.dhs.gov rather than through the standard H-1B petition process, per guidance cited by Yale OISS . Ask your employer's immigration counsel whether your specific case needs this route, since applying it to the wrong scenario wastes time and does not change the underlying fee obligation.
What To Do Before You File
Confirm with your employer's immigration attorney, not a general HR contact, which category your petition falls into before filing. Keep your I-20, the document that certifies your F-1 status, and your OPT or STEM OPT authorization valid through the entire change-of-status process, since a gap in status changes your exemption eligibility. If your employer proposes consular processing instead of change of status for any reason, ask directly whether that shift exposes you to the $100,000 fee.