%0 Report
        %A Borjas, George J.
        %T The H-1B Wage Gap, Visa Fees, and Employer Demand
        %D 2026
        %8 2026 Mar
        %I Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        %C Bonn
        %7 IZA Discussion Paper
        %N 18487
        %U https://www.iza.org/publications/dp18487
        %X The H-1B program lets firms hire high-skill foreign workers for a six-year term. The annual number of visas allocated to for-profit firms is capped at 85,000 and there is excess demand for those visas. The analysis merges administrative data, including the I-129 petitions that report the wage offer made to specific H-1B beneficiaries, with the American Community Surveys. On average, H-1B workers earn 15 percent less than comparable natives, suggesting that firms may be willing to pay a one-time fee to obtain the visas. The data are examined using a labor demand model to simulate how a fee alters the hiring decision. For moderate levels of excess demand, the revenue maximizing fee ranges from $97,000 to $154,000 after allowing for unobserved productivity gains or costs associated with an H-1B hire, and for wage growth and job turnover in the H-1B workforce. The fee also changes the skill composition of that workforce, making it more skilled.
        %K high-skill immigration
%K H-1B program
%K visa fees