US Homeland Security Secretary Markeayne Mullin revealed that over 200,000 people have opted to pay the $100,000 H-1B visa application fee to receive faster processing of their applications.
The additional fee allows applicants to have their applications processed in roughly 15 days, compared to the 7.5 months it takes for the remaining 80,000 applicants who do not pay the fee.
The $100,000 fee was introduced by the Trump administration in an attempt to make it uneconomical for U.S. companies to hire foreign workers over US-born talent.
Senator Susan Collins highlighted how the fee has made it harder for a hospital in rural Maine to hire a surgeon, and urged Mullin to consider exemptions to the visa fee for rural communities.
