The $100,000 Question: The New H-1B Visa Fee and Finding Top Talent

You’ve read the news and listened to the talking heads talk. You’ve already run the numbers. You’ve had the panicked calls from your HR team and the tough conversations with your CFO. The $100,000 H-1B visa application fee isn’t just a headline—it’s a gut punch to your talent strategy. This is the moment the old way of building a world-class team became not just expensive but, in many cases, impractical. In some cases, you may be thinking, impossible.

Think again. This new fee doesn’t mean finding top talent for your company is impossible. Quite the opposite. Highly skilled workers are ready and able to work for you right now. And you don’t pay a penny until they’re on your team. But more on that in a minute. 

“This new visa fee puts a tough question on the table,” says ECLARO Co-Founder Paul Sheridan. “Actually, it’s a few questions. Why would you gamble six figures on a single, one-time visa application when you could be putting that money toward a reliable, predictable talent acquisition model? Can your budget even afford that $100,000 fee? Are you going to be able to find the Right People for your organization?”

Here’s another question: Is this actually about adapting to a new fee, or is it about recognizing that the H-1B visa program is not really a viable solution for predictable, scalable growth with the highly skilled people you need?

“This is a wake-up call to find a better way,” says ECLARO Co-Founder Tom Sheridan. “A place where you can find the Right People for your business remains the ultimate destination. The financial risk and logistical challenges of this new visa process don’t need to be part of the road to getting there.”

The New H-1B Reality: From Lottery to Liability

The H-1B program was already a logistical and economic challenge before this new fee hit. The annual lottery made it essentially a game of chance, with companies investing significant resources only to have their petitions fall into a black hole of uncertainty. The odds of selection were low, and even if your petition was chosen, it was often after months of waiting. This system was, by nature, unpredictable.

The new $100,000, one-time fee for new petitions takes that unpredictability and makes it a much greater liability. This isn't an incremental cost increase we’re talking about. It’s a full-on reset of financial boundaries. For small or mid-sized firms in particular, what does that number do to the bottom line and the ability to hire the best talent out there? The fee alone could wipe out an entire year’s worth of budget for a single new hire.

While this new fee doesn’t apply to renewals or existing H-1B visa holders, its impact on new talent acquisition is significant. Regardless of its stated main intent to protect American jobs, it can create a significant barrier to entry for access to top global talent, especially for innovative startups and growing companies trying to compete in that global marketplace for highly skilled employees with the specialized skills that drive innovation and growth.

A Ripple Effect of Risk

“The financial hit of the new H-1B fee is obvious, but its potential impact extends far beyond the bottom line,” says Paul Sheridan. “This change introduces layers of risk that can directly impact a company’s growth and agility, their ability to plan for the future and dependably fulfill those plans by filling roles with the specific skill sets and experience that they need.”

This matters to both the workforce and the bottom line of organizations of any size or industry on a number of levels:

• Financial Instability: How do you budget for talent when a crucial part of your hiring plan is tied to a potential six-figure expense? This fee turns a recurring operational cost into a volatile and high-risk investment.
• Talent Gaps: Companies that have relied on the H-1B program to fill specialized roles or build out niche teams will now face significant talent gaps, forcing companies to compete for a more limited pool of domestic talent.
• Reduced Innovation: Innovation often thrives on the ability to access the best and brightest minds, no matter where they’re from. By making this process prohibitively expensive for many, the new fee threatens to stifle innovation, potentially forcing companies to push off new initiatives or slow down the rate of growth because the talent or the budget, or both, simply aren’t there.

The Alternative: Predictability, Value and the Philippines

“The solution to this H-1B sticker shock is not to panic or stop looking for world-class talent. Far from it,” says Tom Sheridan. “The answer is to pivot to a model that has been delivering highly skilled workers to U.S. companies for decades, one that is immune to these recent visa policy changes. We’re talking about building you a custom offshore team in the Philippines that is a fully dedicated extension of your onshore team.”

This is Outsourcing Reimagined.

RELEATED: READ MORE ABOUT HOW CUSTOM OUTSOURCING & OFFSHORING CAN WORK FOR YOU

ECLARO’S custom outsourcing and offshoring model is built on quality, stability and value, providing clients with world-class talent—we’ve had clients say the Philippines “is like the Silicon Valley of Southeast Asia”—as well as cost savings of 50% to 75% compared with onshore rates. It’s a talent solution that is insulated from the U.S. H-1B visa policy and many of the challenges it presents.

• Zero Visa Hassles: You bypass the entire H-1B process, from the lottery to the fees, because your talent is living and working in the Philippines through ECLARO’s three global services centers in Metro Manila. We source, recruit and vet the talent you need, when you need it—each candidate is interviewed by you and is fully dedicated to you. This is not a managed service—they are an extension of your U.S.-based business, immersed in your systems, processes and company culture. As part of the ECLARO’s custom outsourcing model, ECLARO takes care of onboarding, payroll, benefits, facilities and equipment, IT support, HR and administrative services, oversight and more

• Cost-Clarity: With an offshore team in the Philippines, you get clear, predictable costs—you pay nothing until your talent is selected by you and hired, and with ECAPTIVE you only pay for hours worked. Our model allows for precise financial planning, enabling you to build a team with confidence and a clear understanding of your budget.
• An Unmatched Talent Pool: The Philippines is globally recognized for its highly skilled, English-proficient and culturally compatible workforce. Your team members work only for you and are never shared, and they work whatever shifts and hours your business requires. Whether you're building a team for an insurance firm or a SaaS startup, whether you need to augment your IT team with superior talent our create an entire SOC, ECLARO’s rigorous sourcing and vetting process ensures you get the Right People who integrate seamlessly with your U.S. operations.

The new $100,000 H-1B visa fee has made it clearer than ever that relying on an already unpredictable talent pipeline is now an even higher-risk strategy. With a custom offshore engagement in the Philippines, you can stop worrying about six-figure fees and unpredictable policies and stay focused on ensuring your business has the word-class people it needs to thrive, scale and meet the future head-on.

LEARN MORE WITH ECLARO'S ULTIMATE GUIDE TO OUTSOURCING AND OFFSHORING IN THE PHILIPPINES.

CLICK HERE TO CONNECT WITH AN ECLARO OUTSOURCING AND OFFSHORING EXPERT TODAY.