• DHS published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on August 25, 2026 to make a $103,265 fee permanent for cap-subject H-1B petitions, with comments due September 24, 2026.
• DHS estimates the fee applies to about 85,000 petitions a year and raises roughly $8.8 billion annually for immigration-system administration.
• H-1B registrations have fallen for two straight years, to about 344,000 in 2025 from 759,000 in 2023, coinciding with a temporary $100,000 fee.
• Gulf sovereign funds diverge on the U.S. tech cohort most exposed to H-1B costs: Mubadala's U.S. equity book rose to $20.5 billion in Q1 2026 while PIF cut to $12 billion across four holdings.
• Pending lawsuits from Democratic-led states, unions, employers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce mean the fee's final form is not yet settled.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security proposed making its $103,265 H-1B fee permanent, publishing the rule in the Federal Register on August 25, 2026 and opening a public-comment window through September 24, 2026 (Federal Register, Aug. 25, 2026). DHS estimates the fee would apply to roughly 85,000 cap-subject petitions a year, raising about $8.8 billion annually. The cost lands on the U.S. technology cohort where Gulf sovereign funds have split sharply: Mubadala Investment Company built up its U.S. equity book through the first quarter of 2026 while the Public Investment Fund cut its holdings to just four names, per SEC filings reported by Enterprise AM.

The Fee, in Detail

The proposed $103,265 charge would apply to every new cap-subject H-1B petition, on top of existing filing costs, and is not a one-time levy tied to a single hiring cycle (Federal Register, Aug. 25, 2026). DHS says the roughly $8.8 billion in projected annual revenue would fund immigration-system administration across DHS, the Justice Department, the State Department and the Labor Department. Because the rule is still a proposal, the amount, scope and even the petitions it covers could change before any final version is published.

A Cost That Followed a Temporary Order

The proposal follows a temporary $100,000 H-1B fee the Trump administration imposed last year, which is due to expire in September 2026 absent this permanent replacement (Investing.com/Reuters, Aug. 2026). Uptake under the temporary fee was narrow: only about 70 employers paid it, covering a combined 85 applications, as of February 2025, per the same wire report. H-1B registrations have since fallen two years running — to roughly 344,000 in 2025 from about 460,000 in 2024 and 759,000 in 2023 — though the report does not isolate how much of that decline traces to cost versus other factors.

A Screening Layer Adds to the Uncertainty

Beyond cost, the State Department has reportedly ordered consulates to review H-1B applicants' LinkedIn profiles and resumes, with added scrutiny for technology workers and any reported "involvement in the suppression of protected expression," extending to family members' social profiles, according to the same explainer (Investing.com/Reuters, Aug. 2026). This vetting criteria has not been published as formal guidance, so employers assessing sponsorship risk are working from reported practice rather than a citable rule.

The Rule Faces Court Challenges

The fee increase is already contested: multiple lawsuits from Democratic-led states, labor unions, employers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are pending against the fee hikes, per the same report (Investing.com/Reuters, Aug. 2026). That litigation means the $103,265 figure now in the Federal Register is a proposal, not a locked-in cost — employers modeling 2027 hiring budgets are working against both a comment deadline and unresolved court cases.

Why Gulf Portfolios Should Care

The rule does not touch the Tadawul, DFM or ADX directly, but it raises the cost base of the same U.S. technology and AI cohort — Alphabet, Amazon, Tesla and Tata Consultancy Services among the top H-1B sponsors named in DHS-linked reporting — that Gulf sovereign funds hold unevenly. Mubadala's U.S. equity book rose to $20.5 billion in the first quarter of 2026, adding 13 new positions including ASML and Palantir, while Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund cut its U.S. book to just four holdings worth $12 billion, a five-year low, per SEC 13F filings reported by Enterprise AM (May 18, 2026).

What to Watch

Three dates anchor the next leg: the DHS comment window closes September 24, 2026; the original $100,000 temporary fee lapses in September 2026 if the permanent rule isn't final; and second-quarter 13F filings will show whether Mubadala's tech build-out and PIF's retreat continued. None of this is a call on any stock, sector or index — this is not investment advice.