The Center for Immigration Studies claimed in a report that the $100,000 fee for H-1B visa petitions did not reduce the number of H-1B visas, as most recipients are already in the US. The visa fee which came to effect since September 2025 is meant for candidates who are not inside the US when the petitions are made, not for those who are present in the country on some other visa programs, John Miano argued in the report. Miano is an expert on the effect of foreign labor on technology workers.
But the report already triggered a controversy as David J Bier, the director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, called it a fake argument and said even if half of prospective H-1B applicants are in the US, cutting the other half will have a major impact.
