More than 200,000 applicants seeking H-1B visas to work in the United States paid $100,000 for expedited processing during fiscal year 2026, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin told a Senate panel on Tuesday.
Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee, Mullin said the DHS had received around 286,000 H-1B visa applications so far in fiscal year 2026.
"We had 286,000 applicants a year to date for the H-1B visas, out of those, over 200,000 of them paid USD 100,000 to be able to come in because it allows us to process them in a little bit faster of a manner," Mullin said.
According to Mullin, applications submitted under the premium route are processed in about 15 days, while standard applications currently take around seven-and-a-half months.
Rural hospitals raise concerns
The issue came up during a discussion on workforce shortages in rural America. Senator Susan Collins highlighted the case of a hospital in Presque Isle, a rural community in northern Maine, which recently paid the fee to recruit a surgeon from overseas.
Collins argued that healthcare providers serving remote communities face different challenges from companies hiring highly skilled workers in sectors with larger domestic labour pools.
"Would you be willing to consider carving out an exemption for medical professionals from this fee when a community can demonstrate that there is not a medical professional available?" Collins asked.
In response, Mullin said he would examine whether additional flexibility could be provided for such cases.
Calls for special treatment for doctors, teachers
Mullin told lawmakers he would explore possible solutions and consider whether applications involving critical workforce shortages could be handled differently on a case-by-case basis.
Collins stressed the distinction between recruiting technology professionals and filling essential healthcare roles in underserved regions.
"I would suggest that there's a huge difference between bringing in a computer expert from another country to work in wealthy California and Silicon Valley versus a much-needed surgeon to work at a rural hospital in northern Maine," she said.
The discussion also expanded beyond healthcare. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska raised concerns about teacher shortages in rural school districts and indicated she would continue discussions with DHS regarding H-1B visas for educators.
"I'll follow up with you about the issue that I raised previously with regards to H-1B visas for teachers," Murkowski told Mullin.
