H-1B Difficulty Upgrade: Major Shift in Staying in the US

H-1B has long been one of the important paths for many to work, live, and plan their future in the United States. However, in the current policy environment, the real concern is not just “whether you can apply”, but whether this path is still as stable and predictable as it was.

Recently, it was reported that U.S. government lawyers disclosed at a federal court hearing: Since September 2025, when the White House introduced an additional fee of $100,000 for newly submitted overseas H-1B applications, only about 70 U.S. employers have actually paid this fee. This number is far below expectations.

Another widely concerned case makes this uncertainty more tangible. The Times of India reported that an employee with a valid H-1B, valid until 2028, was laid off during a family emergency trip back to India, then lamented on social media that “H-1B has actually become invalid”.

This itself is a signal

“Only about 70 employers paid the fee”, this sends a very direct signal: Most businesses are not willing to bear this additional cost for overseas H-1B talents.

What does this mean?

First, overseas recruitment will be more difficult. For many SMEs and startups, $100,000 is not a small amount.

Second, companies will be more inclined to “locals”. When the same position can hire an American citizen, a green card holder locally, or hire someone that incurs additional identity and time costs, businesses often make very realistic choices. This direction also aligns with the White House's public emphasis on “protecting American workers”.

More importantly, when abroad, career risks are further amplified. Losing the original employer or interruption in identity connection may not just be “temporary unemployment”, but “the cost of re-entering the U.S. job market suddenly becomes too high”.

More worrying is not a single policy, but the entire path to staying in the US is becoming increasingly difficult.

H-1B itself is becoming increasingly challenging. Once unemployed, the buffer time given to applicants is inherently limited; in a layoff environment, finding a new employer to take over in a short time is not easy. Meanwhile, the lottery increasingly favors high-paying positions, becoming less friendly to graduates and entry-level positions.

The transition space from F-1 to H-1B is narrowing. OPT faces re-evaluation or even termination risks. Moreover, some universities have already banned recruiting new H-1B faculty members.

What international students face in the future may not just be “difficulty in finding jobs”, but the entire path to staying in the US is becoming more difficult, more expensive, and more uncertain.

When looking at all these factors, a trend becomes increasingly clear: in the future, the US is more welcoming of mature labor that already has higher salaries, stronger job value, and lower identity risks.

Is to solve the identity issue early

Precisely because of this, more people are beginning to realize: For families and individuals hoping to develop, work, and live long-term in the U.S., what really needs to be solved early is not “whether you win the H-1B lottery”, but whether you can retrieve the future from employers and temporary visas sooner.

This is also why “identity” is becoming increasingly important.

With a green card, changing jobs no longer depends on the employer;

With a green card, cross-border travel won't be affected by a temporary work visa, complicating the entire career path;

With a green card, career choices, educational arrangements, asset planning, and family life will have higher certainty.

To put it more directly: visas solve the “can we stay temporarily”, identity solves the “can we really settle down”.

Only then can you have more autonomy

In the current environment, EB-5 is more worth noting, as it offers a more stable U.S. identity. This means applicants no longer have to give up the long-term retention in the US entirely to employers, nor bind their career paths continuously to H-1B, layoff risks, and policy fluctuations, but can establish education, employment, residence, and family arrangements on a more stable identity foundation sooner.

Especially under the current policy window, the rural EB-5 reserved visa category still has the advantages of no waiting period, dual submission, and priority review. For eligible applicants, this is not just “faster green card processing”, more importantly, it turns many originally passive waiting decisions into plannable proactive arrangements.