In September 2025, the US immigration landscape changed in a way that most hiring managers were not prepared for. The government introduced a new $100,000 fee for H-1B visa petitions.
That is not a typo.
For companies that historically relied on H-1B to bring international technical talent onshore, the math stopped working overnight. A single senior engineer hire now carries a six-figure visa cost on top of a US-market salary, benefits, payroll taxes, and recruiting fees. The total first-year cost for one H-1B hire can easily exceed $280,000 to $320,000.
For companies building teams in competitive technical disciplines, this is no longer a sustainable model. And it is one of the primary reasons why decisions to hire LATAM talent are accelerating in 2026 at a pace the market has not seen before.
What the H-1B Fee Change Actually Means for Your Hiring Budget
The $100,000 fee applies per petition, not per company per year. Every new H-1B filing carries the cost. For companies that typically sponsor five to ten H-1B visas annually, that is $500,000 to $1,000,000 in immigration fees alone, before a single employee clears their first day of work.
Add to that the existing challenges of the H-1B system: annual caps that leave thousands of qualified candidates outside the lottery, processing timelines that stretch from months to over a year in some cases, and the ongoing uncertainty that comes with visa-dependent employment. A candidate who does not clear the lottery is simply unavailable, regardless of how strong their profile is.
The result is a hiring model that was already expensive and unpredictable, now compounded by a cost barrier that puts it out of reach for most companies outside of the very largest enterprises.
The LATAM Alternative: Remote, Compliant, and Already Working
The nearshore recruitment model that US companies use to hire LATAM professionals does not depend on visa approvals, lottery outcomes, or immigration timelines. LATAM professionals work remotely from their home countries, fully employed under local compliance frameworks managed by the hiring partner.
There is no petition. There is no $100,000 fee. There is no waiting period tied to government processing.
A company that decides to hire LATAM talent today can have a vetted candidate in their interview pipeline within seven to fourteen days. From offer acceptance to start date, the typical timeline runs two to four weeks for most operational and technical roles.
That speed advantage alone is significant. But when you pair it with the cost structure, the case becomes difficult to argue against.
The Cost Comparison That Decision-Makers Are Running Right Now
Here is a real budget comparison for a senior software engineer hired through two different paths:
Path 1: H-1B Hire
• Base salary (US market, senior engineer): $155,000
• Employer payroll taxes and benefits (40% of base): $62,000
• H-1B petition fee: $100,000
• Legal and immigration counsel: $8,000 to $15,000
• Recruiting costs (agency or internal): $25,000 to $40,000
• Estimated year-one total cost: $350,000 to $372,000
And that assumes the petition clears the lottery and the candidate starts on schedule, which is far from guaranteed.
Path 2: Senior LATAM Engineer via EOR
• Base salary (senior engineer, LATAM market): $60,000 to $75,000
• Employer taxes and mandatory benefits (20 to 25% of base): $12,000 to $18,750
• EOR service fee ($500 to $800/month): $6,000 to $9,600
• Recruiting fee (one-time, 15 to 20% of annual salary): $9,000 to $15,000
• Estimated year-one total cost: $87,000 to $118,350
The difference in year one is between $232,000 and $285,000 per hire, in favor of the LATAM model. In year two, when the recruiting fee drops away, the gap widens further.
For a team of five engineers, that is over $1,000,000 in savings in the first year alone, compared to the H-1B path.
What Changes When You Hire LATAM Talent Instead of Pursuing H-1B
The objection most hiring managers raise at this point is quality. The assumption is that the cost difference reflects a quality difference.
That assumption does not hold up to the data, nor to the actual experience of companies that have built technical and operational teams in Latin America over the past several years.
Latin America's developer population has grown substantially over the last decade. Brazil has over 500,000 software professionals. Mexico's tech talent base exceeds 800,000. Colombia's ecosystem has expanded rapidly, with Medellín and Bogotá emerging as recognized technical hubs. Argentina's engineering talent pool, though smaller, consistently ranks among the highest-quality in the region for senior and specialized roles.
These professionals work in the same time zones as US teams. They are familiar with US business culture, agile development practices, and remote-first work structures. English proficiency at the professional level is common in the talent segments that US companies typically hire from.
The functional difference between a well-matched LATAM hire and an H-1B hire is not technical capability. It is the cost and compliance structure surrounding the engagement.
The TN Visa Option for Mexican Professionals: A Middle Path
For companies that need an onsite or hybrid presence for specific roles, Mexican professionals who hold NAFTA or USMCA-qualifying qualifications may be eligible for TN visa status. TN visas apply to a defined list of professional categories, including engineers, accountants, scientists, computer systems analysts, and others.
The TN process does not have an annual cap. It does not go through a lottery. Processing is typically handled at the port of entry and can be completed in a single day for prepared applicants.
For companies that need a LATAM professional on the ground in the US for specific projects or periods, TN is the compliance structure worth exploring. It does not carry the $100,000 fee associated with H-1B and provides legal on-site work authorization for Mexican nationals in eligible roles.
This option is not available across the full LATAM region, and it does not cover all role types. But for companies with active hiring pipelines for Mexican professionals in qualifying fields, it represents a meaningful alternative to the H-1B path.
How to Transition Your Hiring Strategy From H-1B to Nearshore LATAM
The shift is simpler operationally than most companies expect. The key steps are:
Audit your current H-1B pipeline.For roles where the primary motivation was cost management or access to specialized skills, assess whether the same profile exists in the LATAM market. In most technical disciplines, it does.
Define the compliance model.Companies without a local entity in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, or Argentina should use an EOR or PEO model. This eliminates the need to register a legal employer in each country and ensures payroll, benefits, and termination obligations are handled correctly.
Adjust your sourcing timeline expectations.Nearshore LATAM hiring moves significantly faster than H-1B processing. A role that would have taken six to fourteen months through H-1B typically closes in three to six weeks through a specialized LATAM recruitment partner.
Build for the team, not for the visa.The H-1B model often constrained companies to hiring from a narrow pool of candidates who happened to be in the US on an existing visa or willing to go through the petition process. LATAM hiring opens a much larger available talent pool, unconstrained by immigration status.
The Broader Context: US Immigration Costs Are Not Going Down
The $100,000 H-1B fee is not an anomaly. It reflects a broader policy direction that has made employer-sponsored immigration consistently more expensive and more uncertain over time. Companies that built their international hiring strategy around the H-1B system are now facing structural pressure to diversify their approach.
Nearshore recruitment is the most operationally practical alternative. It requires no immigration filings, no government approvals, and no lottery outcomes. It scales as your team grows without adding immigration overhead per headcount.
The companies that recognized this shift early are already operating with LATAM-based teams at a fraction of the cost structure that their competitors are carrying through H-1B dependency.
Ready to Hire LATAM Talent? What to Expect From the Process
For companies evaluating the shift from H-1B to nearshore recruitment for the first time, the process with a structured partner looks like this:
Role briefing and kickoff take one to two business days. A specialized recruiter in your target LATAM market begins active sourcing immediately, drawing from an existing network of pre-vetted professionals. First-round candidate shortlists arrive within seven to fourteen days depending on role complexity. Offer, onboarding documentation, and EOR activation run in parallel after candidate selection.
From kickoff to first day of work, the typical timeline is three to five weeks for most operational and technical roles. Executive Search placements run longer, typically six to ten weeks, given the depth of the search required for senior leadership profiles.
Combine Global Recruitment manages Direct Hire, Outsourcing (EOR), and Executive Search across Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina. Our process covers full compliance management, candidate vetting, and onboarding support, so the transition from your current hiring model to a nearshore structure is handled without adding operational complexity to your team.
The H-1B path just got significantly more expensive. The LATAM path has been getting stronger every year.
