The U.S. government has implemented a $100,000 feet for H-1B visas, which are meant for highly skilled workers coming to the United States. The previous fee was around $7,500.
Will this impact Mandarin immersion programs? Possibly, but it’s not clear how many teachers come in on these visas.
In the past, many districts made use of teachers from China as part of the Hanban teachers program. However most of these programs have now been ended due to concerns over possible influence by the Chinese government on this program and its teachers.
In addition, teachers sent from Hanban (which has been renamed the Center for Language Education and Cooperation, or CLEC) were in the U.S. on J-1 visas, not H-1B visas. J-1 visas are for participants in “cultural exchange programs.”
It appears that most of the teachers in the U.S. using H-1B visas are more often teaching math and science, though there are very likely quite a few immersion teachers as well – but how many is difficult to know.
The National Education Association estimates that “over 500 public K-12 school districts in the United States collectively employ over 2,300 H-1B visa holders.”
If your district relies on H1-B visa holders to staff Mandarin immersion programs, feel free to reach out to me and I can write about how it’s impacting programs.
Some stories about the program and how it’s impacting schools:
Hiring foreign teachers? What to look out for as Trump targets H-1B visas
H-1B visa lawsuit alleges $100K fee will worsen teacher shortages
A lawsuit filed by schools includes this immersion program:
“For instance, plaintiff Global Village Academy Collaborative — a public nonprofit that oversees a language immersion charter school network in Colorado — said it cannot afford the up to $500,000 the new policy would cost to hire world language teachers for the 2026-27 school year.”
“In 2014, Telluride kindergarteners began their school careers learning in both English and Spanish through a two-way dual language immersion program.
The goal? To make all students bilingual, biliterate and bicultural, and “close achievement gaps, help our native Spanish speakers, and really help build a multicultural worldview for our native English speakers,” said Superintendent John Pandolfo.
The program depends on H-1B teachers from Spain, Mexico, Colombia and other countries. This year, Telluride has 12 H-1B teachers. That first cohort of kindergarteners is now in 11th grade.”
Behind the Push to Exempt International Teachers from a New $100,000 Visa Fee
Foreign-born D.C. teachers blindsided by end of green card policy
Mandarin Immersion Parents Council 
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