If you are holding a US MBA admit and have spent the last year assuming a $100,000 wall now stands between you and a job offer, read the calendar first. The proclamation that created the headline H-1B visa fee in 2026 expires on September 21, and it has not actually been collected since June. That does not mean the cost is gone. It means the shape of the risk just changed, and the version coming next is worse in one specific way that matters for Indian applicants.
What actually expires on September 21
Presidential Proclamation 10973, signed on September 19, 2025, imposed a $100,000 payment on new H-1B petitions filed on or after September 21, 2025, where the worker was outside the United States and needed a consular visa. By its own terms the proclamation runs for one year and lapses on September 21, 2026, unless the administration extends it, as Washington University's international office explains.
There is a second reason the fee is not biting right now. A federal court in Massachusetts struck it down as an unlawful tax and vacated the guidance that implemented it on June 8, 2026. The government's appeal to the First Circuit is pending, and the appeals court declined to reinstate the fee while that plays out. So for petitions filed today the six-figure charge is not being applied, a status confirmed in the American Immigration Council's tracking of the rollout. Two things are happening at once: the legal authority behind the fee was already knocked out, and the political vehicle for it is about to sunset on its own.
The $103,265 rule waiting in the wings
The relief is narrow, because a replacement is already drafted. On August 25, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would attach a fee of $103,265 to every cap-subject H-1B petition, as Ogletree Deakins reported. The public comment window closes on September 24, 2026. If the rule is finalized and survives the inevitable litigation, it could apply to cap-selected petitions as early as April 1, 2027, which is the start of the FY2028 lottery cycle.
The difference between the old proclamation and the new rule is not the dollar amount, which is roughly the same. It is the reach. The proclamation targeted workers abroad seeking a consular visa, which spared many students already in the US on F-1 status who were changing to H-1B. The proposed rule is written to hit every cap-subject petition. If an employer files for you in the FY2028 lottery, the fee attaches regardless of where you are standing. That is the version an Indian student starting a two-year MBA in 2026 should plan around, not the one expiring this weekend.
If you are an IT services engineer targeting a US M7
You are the single most exposed profile, and the numbers say why. Indian nationals took about 283,772 H-1B approvals in FY2025, roughly 71 percent of the total, with computer-related roles making up close to two-thirds of all approvals, per Business Today's reporting on the concentration. A tech-heavy resume aimed at a US tech or consulting role is aimed straight at the category any new fee is designed to price down.
The practical read is not "give up on the US". It is "make the employer's math easy". A firm deciding whether to absorb a six-figure surcharge will do it for a candidate who is clearly senior, clearly hard to replace with a domestic hire, and clearly worth the paperwork. That is a positioning problem, and it is solvable in your application narrative and your recruiting strategy long before you land on campus.
If you are funding the MBA on an education loan
Run the sponsorship risk before you sign the loan, not after. A US MBA at a top programme can cross Rs 1.5 crore all in, and the repayment assumption baked into most Indian applicants' plans is a US salary within a work-visa window. If the FY2028 cap route carries a large employer fee, some employers will simply sponsor fewer international hires, which lengthens the odds even for strong candidates.
That is an argument for a portfolio, not a panic. Applicants we work with are increasingly pairing a US target with a one-year European programme where post-study work rules are steadier, or with a strong Indian option that does not depend on a foreign visa at all. Deciding that trade-off is exactly the kind of question our career counselling conversations exist to pressure-test before the deposit is due.
What this means for Indian applicants
Do not let the expiring proclamation lull you into treating the H-1B question as settled. The honest summary is this: the specific $100,000 fee that dominated last cycle's anxiety is legally vacated and about to sunset, while a broader $103,265 fee is drafted, in its comment window until September 24, 2026, and could land on the FY2028 lottery. Plan for the rule, not the headline.
For applicants deciding between geographies right now, that shifts the weight toward programmes and profiles where the return does not hinge on one uncertain visa. We covered the June court ruling that vacated the original fee in our analysis of the $100,000 fee court decision, and the mechanics of the replacement rule in our breakdown of the DHS H-1B fee rule. Read both if you are choosing a school this month. If you want the visa risk built into your school list from the start rather than discovered in year two, that is the core of how we approach MBA and MiM admissions strategy.
Common questions applicants are asking
Is the $100,000 H-1B fee still in effect in September 2026? No. It has not been collected since a federal court vacated the implementing guidance on June 8, 2026, and the proclamation that authorised it expires on September 21, 2026. Petitions filed today are not being charged that fee. A separate proposed rule could reintroduce a similar cost later, so treat the current pause as temporary rather than permanent.
Will the new $103,265 fee apply to me if I am already in the US on F-1? Possibly, and this is the key change. The old proclamation largely spared students changing status from inside the US. The proposed rule is written to attach to every cap-subject petition, which would include petitions filed for F-1 holders. Nothing is final until the rule is issued after the comment period closing September 24, 2026.
Does this fee come out of my salary? No, it is a charge on the employer's petition, not a deduction from your pay. The real risk to you is indirect: a large fee makes some employers sponsor fewer international candidates, which tightens the job market for visa-dependent hires rather than shrinking any single paycheck.
Should I still apply to US programmes for 2027 entry? For many strong candidates, yes, but with eyes open. Build a school list that does not bet everything on a US work visa, keep a European one-year option or a top Indian programme in the mix, and position your profile so an employer's sponsorship decision is easy. The US MBA can still pay off; it just needs a plan B that is real, not decorative.
Related reading
- The $100,000 H-1B fee court ruling and what it meant for Indian MBAs
- The DHS H-1B fee rule and the $103,265 levy, explained
- Career counselling for Indian applicants weighing US risk
Sources verified September 18, 2026. Policy status reflects filings and court actions available on that date; H-1B rules are actively changing and litigated, so confirm current status before making a decision. Next review: January 1, 2028.