Homeland Security Secretary Markeayne Mullin said Tuesday that more than 200,000 people have chosen to pay the $100,000 H-1B visa application fee to have their applications processed more quickly. Mullin told a Senate hearing related to his department that for an additional fee, applicants’ applications could be processed in about 15 days.
“To date, we have 286,000 applicants per year H-1B visa. Of those, over 200,000 paid $100,000 to get in because that allowed us to process them in a faster way. In fact, when we do that, we’re able to process them in about 15 days because we’re able to throw things away,” Mullin said in response to a question from Maine Sen. Susan Collins.
Mullin added that the remaining approximately 80,000 applicants must go through an approximately 7.5-month process to receive a visa application fee waiver.
Mullin’s response came after Senator Collins stressed how H1B visa application fee $100,000 That makes it harder for a hospital in rural Maine to hire a surgeon. Collins urged Mullin to consider waiving visa fees if rural communities can demonstrate that no other medical professionals are available.
“While I can understand why the administration might consider imposing fees on H-1B visas in tech or other industries with large domestic workforces, that’s not what we’re talking about when it comes to healthcare providers in rural areas. I would give an example of a hospital in Presque Isle, Maine, which is in northern Maine, very close to where I grew up, and that rural hospital was recently forced to pay $100,000 in H-1B fees to pay for a much-needed surgeon,” Senator Collins noted. Mullin added that specific divestitures would be difficult to achieve.
Last September, the Trump administration unveiled a $100,000 H1B visa application fee in an attempt to make it uneconomical for U.S. companies to hire foreign workers instead of U.S.-born talent. The visa is valid for three years and can be renewed for another three years. By law, the number of H1B visas issued each year is capped at 65,000, with an additional 20,000 visas issued to those with advanced degrees.
Exceed 70% of H1B visas approved Go to a professional from India.
