Universities and public schools warn that the sharp cost increase could cripple their ability to recruit qualified teachers, researchers, and medical experts.
President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications is expected to reshape the workforce of America’s technology and finance industries — but its most profound effects may strike at the nation’s classrooms.
Across the United States, universities and local school districts say the policy could prevent them from hiring the skilled international professionals they depend on, especially in science, math, and medical education.
Leaders from both higher education and public schools warn that the cost hike would make recruitment nearly impossible, forcing them to rely on less qualified staff or leave vital roles unfilled.
“It’s not as if we hire foreign workers on a whim,” said Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities. “We bring in those who are most qualified, and this policy stands in direct opposition to merit-based hiring.”
Pasquerella emphasized that many institutions depend on foreign experts to fill faculty positions in STEM and healthcare fields, warning that the new fee would further choke the pipeline for international physicians and slow advancements in research areas like artificial intelligence, nuclear engineering, and material science.
“This policy undermines global collaboration,” she said, “and that weakens innovation.”
According to data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, professional and technical services accounted for nearly half of all approved H-1B petitions in fiscal year 2024, while education represented about 7% — a small but crucial segment of the national workforce.
Prominent universities such as Stanford, Michigan, Maryland, and Pennsylvania have consistently ranked among the top sponsors of H-1B visa holders.
At the University of Nebraska system, President Jeffrey P. Gold said roughly 500 employees are currently on H-1B visas, many in specialized roles across technology, precision agriculture, and healthcare.
“If we had to absorb a $100,000 cost per visa,” Gold said, “we’d have to make painful decisions — cutting programs, delaying hires, or passing additional costs onto students.”
He added that the loss of international staff could reduce service quality in hospitals and labs, potentially extending wait times for patients and slowing ongoing research.
At Washington University in St. Louis, Chancellor Andrew Martin said the university sponsors about 285 H-1B visas annually.
“In a world where we’re paying $100,000 per worker, we’ll need to rethink every hiring choice,” he said. “These aren’t positions we can fill domestically — America simply doesn’t produce enough specialists in certain medical and engineering fields.”
Martin added that the change could also discourage international students who once saw U.S. universities as a gateway to global careers.
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Smaller institutions face even harsher realities.
Elizabeth Kiss, president of Union College in Schenectady, New York, said the school employs 16 faculty members with H-1B visas across nine departments — but will likely abandon the program entirely.
“We’re absolutely not in a position to pay $100,000 per visa,” she said. “That’s ten times more than before — it’s financially impossible.”
Ripple Effects on Public Schools
The new policy could also hit local school districts already struggling with staffing shortages.
Tara Thomas, senior government affairs manager at the School Superintendents Association (AASA), said the H-1B program has long been essential to filling vacancies in hard-to-staff areas.
“Adding this fee will effectively eliminate H-1B hiring as an option,” Thomas said. “I can’t imagine any district affording that.”
In Colorado Springs, Dr. Wendy Birhanzel, superintendent of Harrison School District 2, said her district employs seven teachers under H-1B visas — mostly in math, science, and special education. Despite efforts to hire domestically, she said, qualified American teachers remain scarce.
Many of their current international educators, primarily from the Philippines, Mexico, and India, “are paid the same as their U.S. counterparts,” she emphasized.
But as several teachers’ J-1 visas near expiration, Birhanzel said the district cannot afford to convert them to H-1B visas at the new rate.
“The difference between $7,000 and $100,000 per visa is devastating,” she said. “If we lose them, we’ll have to rely on long-term substitutes — and that means larger classes and less experienced teachers.”
She warned that the change could place unqualified substitutes in specialized classrooms: “You could have someone with a degree in music teaching calculus. It’s unfair to students and teachers alike.”
Uncertainty and Confusion Over Exemptions
The Trump administration has said that exemptions may apply for jobs considered to be in the “national interest,” but few details have been released.
Sophie Alcorn, an immigration attorney based in Silicon Valley, said universities are “pausing or canceling” new H-1B applications until they understand how exemptions work and how payments should be processed.
“A $100,000 fee simply isn’t feasible for most educational nonprofits,” Alcorn said. “Budgets are already shrinking due to reduced grants and lower international enrollment.”
Meanwhile, a White House official confirmed that the fee applies to all petitions — even those typically exempt from the 85,000-visa annual cap — filed after September 21.
Some conservative policy experts, however, have praised the move.
Elizabeth Jacobs, director of policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, said the fee ensures employers have a “legitimate need” before turning to foreign hires.
“I see it as a positive step,” Jacobs said. “Universities should still prioritize U.S. citizens and permanent residents for high-value research positions.”
Yet college leaders disagree.
Leon Botstein, president of Bard College in New York’s Hudson Valley, said the rule would force institutions to reconsider their hiring philosophy.
“It’s not patriotic,” Botstein said. “It weakens our economy and punishes excellence. We should be competing for the best minds — wherever they come from.”
