Trump's $100K H-1B fee: Will it drive foreign teachers out of US classrooms?

President Donald Trump ’s recently announced $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa applicants has raised concern among public school administrators. It has also sparked questions about how many international teachers work in K-12 schools across the United States.

According to data by the National Education Association, over 500 K-12 public school districts employed more than 2,300 H-1B visa holders during fiscal year 2025. The exact total is uncertain because the data only includes visas approved that year, whether new or renewed. Still, it represents a modest but strategically important segment of the workforce.

H-1B teachers often fill positions that are hard to recruit domestically. Federal data from fall 2022 shows that there were 3.2 million full-time public school teachers nationwide, yet H-1B educators are concentrated in areas such as science, mathematics, and special education, bringing advanced qualifications and international experience, K-12 Dive reported.

Urban and rural districts alike rely on H-1B teachers
Large urban districts employ most of these teachers, but some rural schools rely heavily on them too. Dallas Independent School District hired 157 H-1B teachers. Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools in Georgia hired 79, District of Columbia Public Schools 62, and the New York City Department of Education 56, according to K-12 Dive.

Alaska provides a rural example. Bering Strait School District employed 35 H-1B teachers. Lower Kuskokwim School District employed 20. A spokesperson for the National Education Association said, “The $100,000 fee on H-1B visas proposed by the current administration would severely impact these districts’ ability to serve their students,” as reported by K-12 Dive.

States with the highest reliance on H-1B educators
NEA’s analysis found that Texas employed the most H-1B teachers in fiscal year 2025, 271 in total. North Carolina followed with 213, and California with 195. Other states with over 100 H-1B teachers included Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, and Minnesota, K-12 Dive reports.

The data shows that international teachers are concentrated in states struggling to fill high-demand roles.

Legal and policy implications
NEA’s data comes amid a lawsuit by education, union, religious, and nonprofit groups challenging the new fee. Plaintiffs argue the fee could worsen teacher shortages by discouraging schools from hiring qualified educators from overseas. District leaders in Texas and North Carolina described the fee as an “unsustainable cost” that could further strain under-resourced schools, reports K-12 Dive.

For districts dependent on international talent, the fee could reshape staffing strategies. Educators and policymakers now face the challenge of balancing immigration policy with the operational needs of K-12 schools.

Looking ahead
The debate over H-1B teachers highlights a broader issue in American education: Maintaining a skilled teaching workforce amid rising demand for STEM education and limits on international recruitment. For students, the stakes are clear because access to qualified teachers affects both educational opportunity and equity.