By Mare Pritchard SCHUYLER, Neb. – About an hour and a half west of Omaha, Nebraska is a small rural farming community known as Schuyler, Nebraska. With a population under 7,000, the residents of this city know each other well, and, as the last few years have shown, are willing to open their community to folks across the world.
Unfortunately, a nationwide teacher shortage has affected Schuyler Community Schools (SCS) ability to find teachers for their classrooms. Around two years ago, the school district found a potential solution. Filipino teachers who could temporarily work in the United States under an H-1B visa.
However, a recent policy change on H-1B visas by the Trump Administration could have negative impacts for the school.
The H-1B Visa Process Update
On Sept. 19, 2025, President Donald Trump announced that a $100,000 fee would be applied to new H-1B visa petitions filed after Sept. 21, 2025. In a presidential proclamation, President Trump said in part:
“The H-1B non-immigrant visa program was created to bring temporary workers into the United States to perform additive, high-skilled functions, but it has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor. The large-scale replacement of American workers through systemic abuse of the program has undermined both our economic and national security.”
The Trump administration believes that adding a six-figure fee to newly filed visa petitions would protect American workers, disincentivize outsourcing and better align with the administration’s goals.
For companies interested in hiring foreign workers the process is multiple steps and can take several months to finalize:
“You start with the Department of Labor, and you have to demonstrate as an employer that you are paying fair wages, as determined by the Department of Labor for that area. Next, you have to do advertising as the employer. You have to demonstrate that there is no available American workers who can accept and are willing to accept the position. If there are none or if you have more jobs than there are job applicants, then you can continue with the recruitment process. After that, you have to file for a foreign labor certification for the H-1B process.” Said Julia Cryne, an immigration attorney at Carlson & Blakeman. “If that is approved you enter the lottery. There are about 85,000 visas available per year for H-1B worldwide. If you are accepted for the lottery, then they file the application for the foreign worker. If that is accepted, then they have a worker. If the worker is not currently in the United States, then they have to bring them from abroad.”
Recently, the United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) a historically republican leaning organization, filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration over the six-figure fee. The USCC argues that the new fee is unlawful and overrides provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that govern H-1B program.
Neil Bradley, Executive Vice President, and Chief Policy offer at the USCC released a statement, saying in part:
“The new $100,000 visa fee will make it cost-prohibitive for U.S. employers, especially start-ups and small and midsize businesses, to utilize the H-1B program, which was created by Congress expressly to ensure that American businesses of all sizes can access the global talent they need to grow their operations here in the U.S.”
The Nationwide Teacher Shortage
As mentioned earlier, American classrooms are facing a teacher shortage. Across the nation, school districts are finding it more difficult every year to find qualified teachers to fill vacant positions.
While multiple sources report different numbers, according to the Learning Policy Institute (LPI) an estimated 411,549 teaching positions were either unfilled or filled by teachers not fully certified for the 2023-24 academic year.
The LPI cites two main reasons for the teacher shortage: a decreased rate in people entering the profession and an increased rate of teachers leaving.
According to the LPI, high school and college students’ interest in teaching is at the lowest level in decades. Additionally, while some teachers are leaving the profession due to retirement less than one fifth are leaving for that specific reason. Most people list pursuing other careers, needing a higher salary, and an overall dissatisfaction with teaching as reasons for leaving the industry.
Rural school districts are the most at-risk when it comes to the teacher shortage.
A SCS faculty member saw a decline in teach fairs or hiring fairs. They noticed that the number of teachers available or teachers looking for work was decreasing. That’s when the faculty member presented the idea of hiring international teachers to Dr. Bret Schroder, the school district’s superintendent.
“We have about 16 teachers in total over the last two years from the Philippines. They teach anything from our preschool program all the way up through high school.” Said Dr. Schroder.
To help find teachers and aid in the H-1B petition process SCS uses a company called Praxical. Praxical is a veteran-owned staffing agency that helps international students, professionals, and educators find top-tier organizations throughout the United States.
“The teachers have to have a minimum of ten years’ experience. The usually have a masters coming in, so they are well educated.” Said Dr. Schroder.
The Future of Schuyler Schools
While the Trump Administration claims the new fee will not impact current visa holders, including the teachers in Schuyler, some legal professionals say there is no guarantee.
For a rural school district reliant on H-1B visa to address a national shortage. Dr. Schroder worries the fee would be too costly and the school would be back to having vacant positions.
“Right now, hiring a teacher with an H-1B might cost around $5000 to $6000, but at $100,000 the cost would just be too prohibitive. We will not be able o afford hiring teachers where we would have to help them with a visa.” Said Dr. Schroder.
At the end of the day, SCS wants to be able to fill their classrooms with teachers who are going to better student learning and the Schuyler Community, regardless of nationality.
“As a school district, our goal is to provide a quality education for our kids. We want the best quality people and this process of being able to hire from outside the country has helped us fill some openings and provide a good, educational program for our kids.” Said Dr. Schroder.
For now, schools like Schuyler are watching closely to see whether new visa fees will make it harder to find quality educators.
