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End of UW’s pause on filing new H-1B petitions

Update: On June 8, a federal judge entered a decision vacating the $100,000 fee for new H-1Bs referenced below. Washington State was a party to this lawsuit and Washington state agencies, including UW, should be covered by the decision. However, government appeal of the decision is expected; UW will continue to follow procedures set forth below until we have certainty on whether the fee has been ended. Contact ISO with any questions.

Effective November 10th, and consistent with recently-released USCIS guidance, UW is ending the “pause” on filing new H-1B petitions related to the $100,000 fee announced on September 19, 2025. International Scholars Operations (ISO) will start moving individual affected H-1B cases forward, as follows:

  • According to the latest USCIS guidance, the $100,000 fee is not required for changes of status to H-1B, or for amendments, extensions, or transfers of existing H-1B status, for persons already in the U.S. ISO will therefore move these cases forward for filing where possible.
  • For candidates coming from abroad who did not have H-1B petitions filed as of September 21, 2025 and who would therefore presumably be subject to the new fee, ISO will identify other options in consultation with academic unit and school/college/campus leadership. Those options may include, but are not limited to:
    • Sponsorship in other visa types (J-1, TN, E-3, O-1)
    • National interest exemptions to the fee
    • Delaying start dates in cases where the above options aren’t viable
  • For new H visa requests for candidates coming from outside the U.S., units may only pay the fee in cases that meet both of the following conditions:
    • No other visa options (change of status inside the U.S., J-1, O-1, TN, E-3) available, or other visa options have already been exhausted, and
    • Positions are deemed essential and considered mission-critical to university academic, administrative, and/or clinical operations.
    • For individuals currently performing or expected to perform critical work, a third condition must be met: interruption through turnover/failed hire could be costly.
  • Final approval for payment of the $100,000 fee will sit with:
    • The Dean’s Office of the School of Medicine, for UW Medicine clinical appointments only, or
    • The Provost’s Office for all other school/college/campuses and position types.
  • The $100,000 fee may not be paid out of General Operating Funds.

ISO will reach out to school/college/campus leadership over the next two week to identify affected cases and discuss options. Please do not reach out with inquiries on individual cases at this time.

Setting Up Committee Managers in Promotion and Sabbatical Cases

The promotion and sabbatical process is an essential part of supporting faculty success at the University of Washington. Accurate case setup in Interfolio Review, Promotion & Tenure (RPT) ensures that reviews move smoothly through each step — from department-level evaluation to campus and college-level decisions. Administrators play a vital role in setting up these cases correctly. To ensure all case requirements are met at each case review step, it’s important to correctly assign Committee Managers at each review stage.

Setting Up Committee Managers

On the promotion and sabbatical foundational templates, all forms are set to be completed by “Only Committee Managers.” This setting was intentionally selected instead of “All Committee Members” to prevent multiple individuals from being required to complete the same form. As a result, administrators must ensure that Chairs/Campus Deans and Deans/Chancellors are designated as Committee Managers at their respective steps.

How to Make the Update

There are two ways to make this change, depending on how your committees were created in Interfolio RPT:

Option 1: Update a Standing Committee

If you created standing committees for the Chair/Campus Dean or Dean/Chancellor, you can update the committee on the Users & Groups page:

1. Find the appropriate committee and select the pencil icon to edit it.


2. In the popup window, click the star next to the Chair/Campus Dean or Dean/Chancellor to make them the Committee Manager.


3. All cases associated with that committee will automatically update.

Option 2: Update an Ad Hoc or Individual Committee

If you created an ad hoc or individual committee for a case, you’ll need to update each case manually:
1. Open the case.
2. Click the Case Details tab.
3. Scroll down to Committee Members and click Edit.


4. Check the box next to Manager.


5. Click Done to save your changes.

By ensuring that the appropriate Chairs, Campus Deans, Deans, and Chancellors are designated as Committee Managers, you help maintain efficiency and consistency across all promotion and sabbatical reviews. For additional guidance on managing cases, committees, and workflow settings in Interfolio RPT, visit the Promotion and Tenure and Case Management pages on the Academic Personnel website.

USCIS no longer accepting filing fee checks as of 10/29/25

USCIS has announced that it will no longer accept checks as a payment method for any filing fee as of October 29, 2025, and will transition entirely to electronic payment methods instead. Those methods include the Form G-1450 Authorization for Credit Card Transactions.

ISO has experienced higher USCIS rejection rates with petitions filed using G-1450 for fee payment. We recommend that units adhere to the following best practices in using Form G-1450 to avoid rejection:

  1. Don’t provide the Form(s) G-1450 until ISO requests it.
  2. Make sure the card in question is activated and remains valid.
  3. Make sure the total fees paid will not exceed daily limits on the card. For example, an H-1B filed with premium processing requires at least $3265 in fees.
  4. Complete a separate Form G-1450 for each filing fee. USCIS will reject G-1450s that combine different fee amounts.
  5. Fill out the PDF of the form using a PDF editor (like Acrobat), then print it and sign in ink. USCIS will reject G-1450s that they suspect were not signed in ink.
  6. Check the card number and expiration date to make sure they’re accurate before signing.
  7. Provide to ISO by:
    1. Mailing the signed original to Box 351245 or dropping it off at 400 Gerberding Hall (preferred), or
    2. Scanning and uploading to the Manage Files page for the relevant visa request

ISO will update its Visa Fees page to reflect this change within the next few weeks, and follow up with units on any active cases where we have already received filing fee checks.

Please contact us with any questions you have about these changes.