At least 200,000 people have chosen to pay the $100,000 H-1B visa application fee to ensure their applications are processed faster, US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullen said on Tuesday. Speaking at a Senate hearing related to his administration, Mullen stated that paying the additional fees allowed applicants to have their applications processed within about 15 days.
“We’ve had 286,000 applicants a year so far for H-1B visas. And of those, over 200,000 of them have paid $100,000 to be able to get in, because that allows us to process them a little bit faster. In fact, when we do that, we’re able to process them in about 15 days, because we’re able to get things out of the way,” Mullen said in response to a question from the Maine senator. Suzanne Collins.
Mullen added that the remaining approximately 80,000 applicants had to undergo a process taking about 7.5 months to obtain a visa application fee waiver.
Mullen’s responses came after Senator Collins highlighted how a $100,000 H1B visa application fee made it difficult for a hospital in rural Maine to hire a surgeon. Collins urged Mullen to consider visa fee waivers where the rural community can prove no other medical professionals are available.
“While I can understand why the administration might consider charging fees for H-1B visas in technology, or other sectors, where there is a large local workforce, that’s not what we’re talking about when it comes to rural medical providers. I want to give you an example of a hospital in Presque Isle, Maine, which is in northern Maine, very close to where I grew up, and this rural hospital recently had to pay an H-1B payment of $100,000,” the senator noted. Collins, a Republican, to the much-needed surgeon fee Mullen explained that it would be difficult to make a specific exception.
In September last year, the Trump administration unveiled the $100,000 H1B visa application fee in an effort to make it uneconomical for US companies to hire foreign workers instead of US-born talent. Visas are granted for three years and can be renewed for another three years. By law, the maximum number of H1B visas granted each year is 65,000, with an additional 20,000 visas granted to graduate degree holders. More than 70% of approved H1B visas go to professionals from India. Additionally, the Trump administration changed the rules regarding the H-1B visa lottery in an effort to favor higher wage earners.
Key members of the Trump administration, including Vice President J.D. Vance, have alleged widespread fraud and abuse in the H-1B visa system. In April, Vance claimed credit for “massive reductions” in H-1B visas granted.
“When you guys graduate… I don’t want you competing with a low-wage foreigner for your first job. I want the company to pay you a fair wage for a fair day’s work… You really have to fix the H-1B system,” Vance said at an event hosted for students by the influential conservative organization Turning Point USA.
