New H-1B wage-based selection rule effective Feb 26 | what does this mean for tech workers?

The DHS final rule replacing the H-1B lottery with wage-based selection goes into effect February 26, 2025. For those who haven't been following this: instead of the random lottery, USCIS will now rank H-1B petitions by the offered wage relative to the prevailing wage for that occupation and area. Higher wage offers get selected first.

There's also a new $100K supplemental registration fee per petition. Yes, you read that right — one hundred thousand dollars just to register.

I manage a DevOps team at a mid-size startup (Series B, ~200 employees) and we rely heavily on H-1B talent. Two of my best engineers are on H-1B and I have a job offer out to a candidate who would need sponsorship.

I'm trying to understand the practical impact:

• Does this basically mean only FAANG-level salaries will get through the selection process?
• What happens to current H-1B holders who want to transfer to smaller companies at lower salaries?
• Is the $100K fee refundable if the petition isn't selected?
• Are there realistic legal challenges that might delay implementation?