Washington, DC: More than two lakh foreign professionals seeking H-1B visas for fiscal year 2026 paid a premium fee of $100,000 (approximately ₹95 lakh) for faster processing of their applications, according to US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
The H-1B visa, which is typically issued for three years and can be renewed, remains one of the most sought-after pathways for skilled foreign workers to live and work in the United States.
Speaking before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Tuesday, Mullin revealed that the DHS had received approximately 286,000 H-1B visa applications so far for FY2026. Of those, over two lakh applicants chose the premium processing route to secure significantly faster decisions on their cases.
“We had 286,000 applicants year to date for H-1B visas. Out of those, over 200,000 paid $100,000 to be able to come in because it allows us to process them in a little bit faster manner,” Mullin told lawmakers.
According to the DHS chief, applications submitted under the premium category are processed in roughly 15 days, compared with an average waiting period of about seven-and-a-half months for standard applications.
The issue surfaced during a discussion on workforce shortages in rural America. Senator Susan Collins highlighted the challenges faced by healthcare providers in underserved regions, citing a hospital in Presque Isle, Maine, that recently paid the premium fee to recruit a surgeon from overseas.
Collins argued that hospitals struggling to fill critical medical positions should not be treated the same as companies hiring highly skilled professionals in industries with broader domestic talent pools.
She asked whether DHS would consider exempting medical professionals from the premium fee requirement when communities can demonstrate an inability to find qualified local candidates.
Responding to the proposal, Mullin said the department would explore potential solutions and consider whether greater flexibility could be applied on a case-by-case basis.
“There’s a huge difference between bringing in a computer expert from another country to work in wealthy California and Silicon Valley versus a much-needed surgeon to work at a rural hospital in northern Maine,” Collins told the hearing.
The discussion also expanded beyond healthcare. Senator Lisa Murkowski raised concerns about teacher shortages in remote school districts across Alaska and urged the DHS to revisit H-1B visa policies affecting educational institutions.
Murkowski said she would continue discussions with the department regarding visa access for teachers, underscoring the growing dependence of rural communities on international professionals to fill critical workforce gaps.
The H-1B visa programme remains one of the primary pathways for US employers to hire foreign skilled workers, particularly in sectors such as technology, healthcare, education and engineering. The latest figures suggest strong demand for expedited processing despite the substantial additional cost.
