Is the $100,000 H-1B Fee Still in Effect Right Now?

You paused every H-1B offer last year when the $100,000 fee became part of the conversation.

Now the situation has changed.

The First Circuit Court of Appeals denied the government’s emergency request to reinstate the fee on July 24, 2026. That leaves in place the lower court’s June 8, 2026 ruling, which vacated the fee nationwide as an unlawful tax.

So, can your company start hiring international talent again?

For now, the fee is blocked. But the appeal is still pending.

That creates a real hiring opportunity, but it is not a permanent guarantee. Companies making hiring, relocation, and budgeting decisions today need to plan for the possibility that the legal position changes again.

What Does “Blocked Nationwide” Mean Today?

The immediate position is relatively straightforward.

The $100,000 H-1B fee is not being collected anywhere right now. That follows from the June 8 ruling and the First Circuit’s July 24 refusal to pause that decision.

For employers, that means:

• Petitions filed today are not subject to the $100,000 fee.
• The court-ordered block applies nationwide rather than only in the states involved in the lawsuit.
• The underlying appeal remains active, so the current position is not necessarily permanent.

That last point is critical.

A company should not treat today’s fee-free environment as though the courts have permanently eliminated the fee.

Why Does the Pending Appeal Matter?

The First Circuit’s decision on July 24 was a refusal to grant an emergency stay. It was not a final decision on the underlying appeal.

The government could still prevail later in the case.

If the First Circuit ultimately reverses the lower court, the H-1B fee could potentially return.

That creates a planning challenge for employers.

An offer letter signed today may contain a guaranteed start date. The company may pay relocation expenses. A hiring manager may build the employee into the next year’s budget.

If the fee returns, those commitments may become substantially more expensive than expected.

The right approach is therefore not to stop hiring again. It is to hire with a contingency plan.

Filing Dates Matter More Than Ever

The H-1B fee has changed status multiple times since late 2025.

That makes filing-date tracking particularly important.

Petitions filed while the fee was active may have different exposure from petitions filed during the current block. HR and legal teams should maintain a shared, dated record showing when each petition was filed and what the fee rules were at that time.

This is not merely administrative housekeeping.

If the fee returns, your company may need to determine which petitions were filed during which legal window.

Without accurate records, that analysis becomes much harder.

This Is Not an HR-Only Decision

International hiring currently involves more than recruiting.

HR, finance, and legal need to coordinate.

There is a risk of finance approving a hire based on today’s fee-free status when the company’s actual financial exposure could change before the petition is filed.

For example, a hiring manager may approve a candidate today because the company can afford the salary and relocation package.

But if the petition is filed after the legal position changes, the total cost could be dramatically different.

That makes the timing of the petition itself an important part of the hiring decision.

Build Contingency Into New Offers

The current legal window may make it attractive to restart international hiring.

That can be reasonable.

But founders should avoid making commitments that assume the current court ruling will remain unchanged indefinitely.

Don’t make irreversible commitments, such as guaranteed start dates and relocation expenses, without considering what happens if the First Circuit ultimately reverses the lower court.

The goal is not to make every offer uncertain.

It is to understand which costs your company can and cannot unwind if the fee returns.

That distinction becomes especially important for senior hires and employees relocating from overseas.

Common Founder Mistakes

• Treating the fee as permanently eliminated: The fee is currently blocked, but the underlying appeal remains pending. Hiring decisions should account for the possibility of a reversal.
• Losing track of filing windows: Because the fee status has changed since late 2025, companies need a dated record showing when each petition was filed.
• Keeping HR, finance, and legal separate: The financial impact of an H-1B hire can change quickly if the legal position changes before filing.
• Guaranteeing costs that cannot be recovered: Relocation expenses and other hiring commitments should be evaluated with the possibility of the fee returning.

10-Minute H-1B Hiring Self-Check

Before extending another H-1B offer or committing relocation funds, ask:

• Do we have a written contingency plan if the First Circuit reverses on the merits?
• Are HR, finance, and legal reviewing H-1B decisions together?
• Do we have a dated record of when every pending petition was filed?
• Have we avoided commitments that would create significant unrecoverable costs if the fee returns?
• Is someone monitoring the appeal’s status?
• Have we identified which current hires fall into different fee windows?

If you cannot answer yes to these questions, you may be making hiring decisions based on a legal position that could change.

Bottom Line

The $100,000 H-1B fee is currently blocked nationwide following the June 8, 2026 ruling, and the First Circuit declined to reinstate it on July 24, 2026.

That creates a genuine hiring window for companies that had paused international recruitment. But the appeal is still pending.

The safest approach is to use the current window while planning for both outcomes. Keep accurate filing records, coordinate HR with finance and legal, and avoid assuming today’s fee-free environment will necessarily remain in place.

See What This Ruling Means for Your Next Hire

Join our upcoming Product Launch Master Class, where we’ll walk through the legal issues founders can overlook before major business decisions, the documents that may need attention, and practical steps for preparing your company for customers, investors, and future growth.

Register here: https://primumlaw.com/product-launch-master-class/