Colleges and research universities are scrambling after the White House announced a $100,000 fee on new H‑1B petitions, a move that university leaders warn will hamstring faculty and research hiring. Higher-education legal and HR advisers say the fee raises costs for departments that recruit international scholars and postdocs, potentially reducing institutional competitiveness in STEM fields. At the same time, the president reiterated support for international students as an economic driver, saying cuts to foreign enrollments would harm campuses—comments that complicate an already uncertain visa landscape. Administrators must now evaluate hiring pipelines, visa timing, and possible exemptions while assessing short-term alternatives such as increased J‑1 use or expanded domestic recruitment. Human-resources teams and provost offices should model the fee’s budgetary impact on grants and departmental lines, accelerate domestic talent pipelines, and coordinate with system leaders and congressional allies to seek clarifications or waivers.