The University of Wisconsin-Madison and other employers across the United States face new federal guidelines for highly-specialized H-1B international visa sponsorship that prioritize higher-paying positions and, in some cases, require a $100,000 fee, following changes made by the Trump Administration last fall.
An H-1B visa is used for prospective international employees that have a bachelor’s degree or higher in a specialty related to the role. UW-Madison is a top employer for H-1B visas in Wisconsin, sponsoring 235 visas in 2025. The new federal requirements join others on a list of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, heightening worries among some international faculty.
“It feels like you’re never really safe in this process,” Al Kovaleski, an assistant professor in the Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences department, said.
H-1B visas are used for positions like Kovaleski’s. He applied for, and received, an H-1B visa for a position at UW-Madison in 2021.
“The visa itself is all handled by the university,” Kovaleski said. “When you apply for a job as an international person, it says whether the organization sponsors a visa or not. For a lot of people, that means they would sponsor a H-1B visa.”
Originally from Brazil, Kovaleski highlighted what international workers bring to UW-Madison.
“You’re putting together very different perspectives of life,” he said. “You try to bring your culture with you. That’s what we bring into what is the Wisconsin Idea.”
Individuals can hold H-1B status for a maximum of six years, and petitions are completed by a U.S. employer on behalf of an applicant.
Congress has a limit of 85,000 H-1B visas per fiscal year, 65,000 under the regular cap and 20,000 for those with a U.S. master’s degree or higher. Universities are exempt from the cap and can submit applications any time during the year, not just during the fiscal year limit.
“UW-Madison continues to monitor changes associated with the H-1B proclamation as well as other changes to immigration regulations. Changes to immigration rules and regulations do not alter UW-Madison’s hiring practices. The university will continue to comply with state and federal laws applicable to its hiring practices,” UW-Madison spokesperson John Lucas told The Daily Cardinal in a statement.
In fiscal year 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services received 358,737 registrations. To address these demands, USCIS has used a random lottery system to determine what applicants would be selected for an H-1B visa.
The Department of Homeland Security announced a final rule in December that replaces the random lottery with a wage-based system for fiscal year 2027. Under the new rule, registrations are ranked based on the Department of Labor’s wage level for the offered position, ranging from Level I, entry-level, to Level IV, expert. Level IV registrations will receive four entries in the selection pool, while Level III receives three, Level II receives two and Level I receives one.
Additionally, Trump’s September proclamation, “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers,” introduced a $100,000 fee for new H-1B petitions filed from candidates outside of the U.S. to be submitted with their employer-sponsored petitions. The fee does not typically apply to candidates like F-1 students, or others already in the U.S. who can change their status domestically.
The proclamation says H-1B visas have been used to exploit and replace American workers with “lower-paid, lower-skilled labor.” It also cited increased unemployment rates amongst U.S. college graduates, saying “it is therefore necessary to impose higher costs on companies seeking to use the H-1B program in order to address the abuse of that program while still permitting companies to hire the best of the best temporary foreign workers.”
The new system and fee are not the only changes affecting H-1B visa applications. In December, the Department of State expanded their social media screening process to require H-1B applicants and their dependents — F-1, M-1 or J-1 non-immigrant visas — to turn their social media privacy to public to allow officers to investigate their online presence.
Kovaleski did not have to endure the lottery process, as he was pursuing an H-1B visa under the Master’s Cap. While that process went smoothly for Kovaleski, getting his permanent residency in the U.S. was a different experience.
A unique distinction that sets an H-1B visa apart from a J-1 or F-1 visa is the ability for the H-1B visa to have dual intent, meaning the applicant can apply for an H-1B visa with the intent of becoming a permanent resident. However, the process is not streamlined.
For Kovaleski, applying for residency required collecting and filing multiple forms, copies of passports, old visas and many other documents. Kovaleski said he submitted a packet of around 150 pages.
“My memory of that time faded so quickly,” Kovaleski said. “I usually say that it’s because of the trauma associated with it, because of how difficult it is.”
