A quiet but significant policy change in the U.S. immigration system, announced on 20 October, 2025, is sending a wave of relief and optimism through international student circles.

Starting with the 2026 H-1B visa filing cycle, employers will face a new $100,000 fee when sponsoring workers from abroad.

But there’s an important exception: students already in the U.S. on F-1 visas won’t have to pay it.

This new rule has enormous implications. For tens of thousands of international students who choose to study in USA, it means the pathway from classroom to career just became smoother and far more appealing to employers.

In light of this change, companies are likely to strategically prefer hiring F-1 students already in the United States rather than recruiting internationally and facing

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