This post is not legal advice. Talk to an immigration attorney about any specific petition. What it does cover is the planning side: how to keep work moving while the rules settle.
Where the two costs stand today
The $100,000 payment. A presidential proclamation signed on 19 September 2025 required a $100,000 payment with new H-1B petitions filed after 21 September 2025. According to USCIS, on 8 June 2026 a federal court in Massachusetts vacated the agency guidance that put this payment in place (State of California v. Mullin). On 24 July 2026 the First Circuit denied the government's request to pause that order. USCIS says it will comply, but also that DHS still plans to collect the payment if the order is later lifted.
The proposed $103,265 fee. Separately, DHS published a proposed rule on 25 August 2026 to add a $103,265 fee to every H-1B cap-subject petition, including those under the advanced degree exemption. It would be paid at filing, on top of all other fees. DHS estimates about $8.8 billion a year from a projected 85,000 cap-subject petitions. The comment period closed on 24 September 2026 and more than 11,000 comments were received. It is not a final rule yet. Cap-exempt petitions, such as those from universities and certain nonprofit research groups, would not pay it.
So a single cap-subject hire could carry no extra cost, one of these costs, or in theory both. You cannot know yet.
Why waiting is the risky option
Cap-subject hiring follows a fixed yearly cycle, with registration usually opening in March. If you wait for a final answer before planning, you may find out close to that window with little time to adjust. Meanwhile the work on your roadmap does not wait. The safer move is a plan that works under every outcome.
A planning approach that holds up
1. Split roles by where the work must happen
List the developer roles you need in 2027. For each one, ask whether the person truly has to be in the US. Customer-facing technical leads, roles that need on-site hardware, or work with strict data location rules may need to be. Many backend, frontend, mobile, QA and maintenance roles do not.
2. Compare full cost, not salary
For roles that must be in the US, build a cost range that includes salary, benefits, legal fees, standard filing fees and each possible extra fee. For roles that can be remote, compare that against a dedicated remote team: monthly rate, overlap hours, management time and ramp up. Put both side by side for the same scope of work.
3. Start a small pilot before Q1
Do not move a whole team at once. Pick one self-contained piece of work, such as a feature backlog or a maintenance stream, and run it with a remote team for six to eight weeks. You will learn far more about fit, communication and quality than from any proposal document.
4. Set contract, IP and time zone terms early
Decide code ownership, access rules, notice periods and working hour overlap before the pilot starts. Our software development contract checklist covers the clauses that matter, and our week one onboarding plan helps a new remote developer become useful fast.
Trade-offs to be honest about
- Overlap hours. A team in a far time zone gives you a few shared hours a day, not a full day. Plan meetings and code review around that window.
- Management time. A remote team still needs a clear owner on your side who writes tickets and reviews work.
- Not every role fits. If a role needs daily in-person work, a remote team will not replace it.
- The rules may change again. The court case and the proposed rule can both move. Review your plan when either one does.
Where Ascent24 fits
Ascent24 provides dedicated remote development teams for web, mobile and integration work. We do not give immigration advice. If you want to test a remote team on a small piece of your roadmap before the next cap season, we can scope a pilot with you. Write to info@ascent24.io.
FAQs
Is the $100,000 H-1B payment in effect right now?
According to USCIS, the guidance that implemented it was vacated by a federal court on 8 June 2026, and the First Circuit denied a stay on 24 July 2026. DHS says it will comply but still plans to collect the payment if the order is lifted.
Is the $103,265 H-1B fee final?
No. It is a proposed rule published on 25 August 2026. The comment period closed on 24 September 2026. It would only take effect if DHS issues a final rule.
Which petitions would the proposed fee apply to?
H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption. Cap-exempt petitions, such as those filed by institutions of higher education and certain nonprofit or governmental research organizations, would not pay it.
Can a remote team replace an H-1B hire?
For some roles, yes, especially when the work does not need to happen in the US. For roles that need in-person work or strict data location, it usually cannot. Split your roles first, then decide.
Sources
- USCIS, H-1B FAQ (last updated 28 Jul 2026): https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/h-1b-faq
- Federal Register, Fee for Certain H-1B Petitions, proposed rule, 91 FR 54817 (25 Aug 2026): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/25/2026-17324/fee-for-certain-h-1b-petitions
- USCIS, DHS Proposes Additional H-1B Fee (24 Aug 2026): https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/dhs-proposes-additional-h-1b-fee
