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More than 2 lakh applicants opted to wage $100,000 for their H-1B visas to enactment successful the U.S. successful the fiscal twelvemonth 2026, Markwayne Mullin, Secretary, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said successful Washington.
Testifying earlier the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee connected Tuesday (June 2, 2026), Mr. Mullin said the DHS had received astir 2.86 lakh H-1B applications successful the fiscal twelvemonth 2026.
“We had 286,000 applicants a twelvemonth to day for the H-1B visas, retired of those, implicit 200,000 of them paid USD 100,000 to beryllium capable to travel successful due to the fact that it allows america to process them successful a small spot faster of a manner,” Mr. Mullin said successful effect to a question by U.S. Senator Susan Collins connected the shortage of doctors successful agrarian parts of the country.
Mr. Mullin said applicants paying $100,000 get their papers processed successful astir 15 days and it takes astir 7.5 months to process different applications.
Ms. Collins told the subcommittee that a infirmary successful Presque Isle, a agrarian assemblage successful bluish Maine, precocious had to wage the interest to unafraid a much-needed surgeon from overseas.
She said that aesculapian work providers serving distant areas should beryllium treated otherwise from employers recruiting highly skilled workers successful sectors with larger home labour pools.
"Would you beryllium consenting to see carving retired an exemption for aesculapian professionals from this interest erstwhile a assemblage tin show that determination is not a aesculapian nonrecreational available?" Ms. Collins asked.
Mr. Mullin assured the Senator that helium would look astatine imaginable solutions connected whether specified applications could beryllium dealt with immoderate flexibility connected a case-by-case basis.
"I would suggest that there's a immense quality betwixt bringing successful a machine adept from different state to enactment successful affluent California and Silicon Valley versus a much-needed surgeon to enactment astatine a agrarian infirmary successful bluish Maine," she said.
Republican Senator from Alaska Lisa Murkowski flagged concerns astir the shortage of teachers successful schoolhouse districts successful agrarian areas of her state.
"I'll travel up with you astir the contented that I raised antecedently with regards to H-1B visas for teachers," Ms. Murkowski told Mr. Mullin.
