Bianca Junqueira, our Co-founder and CRO, on what is changing — covered by NEO and Edomex al Día · August 2026
Three changes are moving through the U.S. immigration system at once — a court ruling, an administrative reallocation, and a pilot programme. Together they lower cost and time barriers for companies hiring international talent in fiscal year 2026.
The $100,000 H-1B surcharge was struck down
A federal court in Massachusetts annulled the additional US$100,000 fee applied to new H-1B petitions, finding it amounted to a tax Congress had not authorised. The government may still appeal, and USCIS has not announced how it will implement the ruling.
[quote-is-layout-flow: Many organisations had put international hiring on hold as immigration costs rose. If this ruling holds, it could revive interest in bringing in specialised foreign talent — particularly in sectors sh] — needs manual conversion
Employment green cards rose from 140,000 to 186,000
Roughly 46,000 permanent residencies unused in family categories were reassigned to employment-based ones, lifting the annual cap to 186,000 — one of the largest increases in years. The shift already shows in Visa Bulletin movement and mainly benefits EB-1 (extraordinary ability) and EB-2 (advanced degrees or national interest) applicants. For HR and corporate legal teams it widens the eligibility window and can speed up retention of critical talent.
A pilot for faster B-1/B-2 interviews
From 1 July to 31 December, the State Department is running a pilot that lets B-1/B-2 applicants secure a consular interview within 10 business days for an extra US$750. It only accelerates scheduling — it does not change how applications are assessed and does not guarantee approval. Capacity is limited and the list of participating consulates has not been published.
What it means
Several of these changes still depend on litigation or on final administrative implementation, which leaves real operational uncertainty for companies planning hires or expansion. The direction of travel, though, points toward more flexibility in labour mobility — and immigration planning has stopped being a purely legal function and become a competitiveness variable.
Read the coverage: NEO · Edomex al Día