Why It Matters
Alaska is facing a deepening teacher shortage that affects classrooms from Anchorage to the most remote rural communities in the state. A federal visa fee increase now threatens one of the primary tools Alaska school districts have used to fill critical staffing gaps — the H-1B visa program for international teachers. At $100,000 per applicant, the fee is effectively unaffordable for most Alaska school districts, and lawmakers are pushing back.
The Alaska House of Representatives passed a resolution on March 20, 2026, urging the Trump administration to waive the $100,000 H-1B visa fee for internationally recruited teachers. The unanimous vote signals broad bipartisan concern over what legislators describe as an unsustainable financial burden on districts already struggling to keep qualified educators in front of students.
What Happened
The Alaska House voted 38-0 to approve a resolution calling on the federal government to exempt teachers from the steep H-1B visa application fee. Representatives Bill Elam, R-Kenai, and David Nelson, R-Anchorage, were absent from the vote.
The resolution was sponsored by Rep. Alyse Galvin, I-Anchorage, a former teacher who argued the cost is simply impossible for Alaska’s school districts to absorb. The measure is non-binding but is intended to formally communicate the Alaska Legislature’s position to the state’s federal delegation, urging them to pursue a waiver from the Trump administration.
The H-1B visa program allows U.S. employers to recruit highly skilled workers from overseas. The federal government raised the H-1B application fee from $5,000 to $100,000 per new applicant in September, a 1,900 percent increase that has alarmed school administrators across Alaska who rely on international hires to staff classrooms.
By the Numbers
- $100,000: The current H-1B visa application fee per new applicant, raised from $5,000 in September.
- 38-0: The unanimous House vote approving the resolution on March 20, 2026.
- 66: The number of international teachers currently employed by the Anchorage School District alone, according to Rep. Ted Eischeid.
- 60%: The share of teachers in the Kuspuk School District who are international hires, according to Rep. Nellie Jimmie, D-Toksook Bay.
- $1,000,000: The cost to recruit just 10 international teachers at the current visa fee rate, as cited by Rep. Jimmie during floor debate.
Voices from the Floor
Lawmakers representing both urban and rural Alaska spoke in support of the resolution during floor debate, emphasizing that international teachers are not a peripheral workforce but a structural necessity for many districts.
Rep. Galvin called the situation urgent for rural Alaska in particular. “We are desperate for more teachers, qualified teachers in the classroom before our students,” she said. “We have a true need here that can be met, and this is one tool that I hope all of us will raise our voice together and send to our federal delegation so they can use it.”
Rep. Ted Eischeid, D-Anchorage, a former science teacher, highlighted the impact on urban districts as well, noting that 66 international educators are currently working in the Anchorage School District. “If the most important educational reform is to have a highly qualified teacher in front of kids every day, this resolution moves us in that direction,” Eischeid said.
Rep. Nellie Jimmie, D-Toksook Bay, offered one of the most direct assessments of the financial reality facing small rural districts. “The Kuspuk district cannot recruit teachers fast enough off the road system,” Jimmie said. “Ten teachers at a $100,000 rate visa, that’s a million dollars. Do we have a million dollars in our budget to spare for these teachers? I don’t think so.”
Zoom Out
Alaska is not alone in feeling the pressure of the H-1B fee increase on public education. Teacher shortages have been declared a national crisis, with rural and remote communities consistently facing the greatest challenges in recruitment and retention. Many states have turned to international recruitment programs as a long-term staffing strategy, particularly for subjects like science, math, and special education where domestic candidates are scarce.
The September 2024 fee hike was part of broader federal changes to the H-1B program, affecting a wide range of industries. However, critics argue that applying the same fee structure to nonprofit employers like public school districts creates a disproportionate burden that undermines local education systems.
What’s Next
With the resolution passed by the full House, it will now be forwarded to Alaska’s federal congressional delegation. Lawmakers hope the delegation will formally request that the Trump administration grant a waiver or carve-out for public school districts from the $100,000 H-1B visa fee. No timeline has been set for a federal response, and the resolution carries no legal force on its own. The Alaska Senate has not yet taken up a companion measure.