HR leads: drop the $100,000 H-1B fee from FY2027, but verify before each filing

The date to watch is September 21, 2027, the outer edge of the presidential extension for the $100,000 H-1B fee. As of October 1, 2026, federal court orders block the fee and prevent collection. For HR leads, the practical move is to remove the fee from the 2027 sponsor budget, but only after a pre-filing check.

The budget line can be removed because the government cannot collect the fee under the current orders. That does not make the fee irrelevant. It makes the fee a variable that must be rechecked before each payment. The filing team should not rely on a spreadsheet from budget season. The check should happen at payment entry, not at budget approval. The habit should survive a staff change.

The second order changes the budget, not the filing habit

A second federal district court in California ordered the $100,000 payment requirement blocked on September 30, 2026. Judge Gilliam, in Global Nurse Force v. A judge in the fee challenge issued a preliminary injunction on the same date. The California order also reaches the September 2026 extension of the fee. That means the blocked fee is not a one-day event.

Proclamation 11069, issued by President Trump on September 18, 2026, carried the fee forward to that date. The case-management conference in California is set for October 27, 2026. That date is a watch item, not a filing deadline.

A petition filed before the extension's end point may still face a different fee status if the court orders change. The safe practice is to treat the fee as unconfirmed until the payment page says otherwise.

The checklist is the control

The budget decision is easy. The filing decision is not. A fee can be blocked today and required tomorrow if the order changes. The checklist exists to keep the budget clean without creating a filing error. Use it before every new petition, not once at budget season. The control should be simple enough for a paralegal to run without waiting for a memo.

1. Confirm the petition type and whether it is cap-subject.
2. Check the current status of the $100,000 H-1B fee on USCIS/Pay.gov before entering payment.
3. Confirm the court order still covers the fee for the filing date.
4. If the petition is cap-subject, check separately for any published requirement for the proposed $103,265 charge.
5. Record the check date, the fee status, and the 2027 budget line, then update the sponsor budget.

The first item separates the two fee questions, while the middle items keep the filing current. The final step gives counsel a record for later review. The list is short because each step is a control, not a legal opinion. The checklist supports legal advice. It is a control for the people who enter data, approve payments, and keep the petition file. If the fee status changes between budget approval and filing, the checklist catches it.

Keep the proposed cap-subject charge separate

A separate proposal from DHS, the federal immigration agency, would add a $103,265 charge to H-1B cap-subject petitions. The pending $100,000 fee cases do not reach that proposal. So the budget should not merge the two amounts. If the proposal is later published as a requirement, the cap-subject line changes. Until then, the blocked fee and the proposed charge are different questions.

The cap-subject question complicates budgeting. A cap-subject petition is the type that can be affected by the separate proposed charge. A non-cap-subject petition should not be loaded with that amount. The distinction should be made before the budget line is created, not after payment is due.

Run the check before payment, not after the budget is approved. If the fee appears, pause and escalate. If it does not, proceed with the filing and keep the record in the petition file. The record should be short: who checked, when, what the page showed, and whether payment was required. That record is what counsel needs if a fee appears later or if the filing is questioned.