On September 19, 2025, President Trump issued a Proclamation under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(f) & § 1185(a) that restricts entry into the United States of non-citizens with H-1B visas unless their H-1B petitions were "accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $100,000." Proclamation § 1(a).
Although the plain language of the Proclamation would appear to bar even current H-1B visa holders from entering the United States once the Proclamation takes effect at 12:01 am eastern time on September 21, 2025, the White House has now indicated that the Proclamation will apply only prospectively and will not apply to current H-1B visa holders.1
It is anticipated that the Proclamation will be challenged in court. If the Proclamation stands, the Department of Homeland Security is instructed not to grant new H-1B petitions, for H-1B workers outside the United States, unless the petition is accompanied by the new $100,000 fee. Proclamation § 1(b). The Department of State is similarly instructed not to issue new H-1B visas unless payment has been made. Proclamation § 2(b).
The Proclamation sets forth one exception: "The restriction imposed pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall not apply to any individual alien, all aliens working for a company, or all aliens working in an industry, if the Secretary of Homeland Security determines, in the Secretary's discretion, that the hiring of such aliens to be employed as H-1B specialty occupation workers is in the national interest and does not pose a threat to the security or welfare of the United States." Proclamation § 1(c). It is unclear how this exception will operate in practice.
The Proclamation also specifies that "The Secretary of State shall also issue guidance, as necessary and to the extent permitted by law, to prevent misuse of B visas by alien beneficiaries of approved H-1B petitions that have an employment start date beginning prior to October 1, 2026." It is not presently known what this guidance will specify and what will constitute visa "misuse."
Footnote
1. See https://x.com/PressSec/status/1969495900478488745 ("This applies only to new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders."); see also M. Ward & G. Ewing, Trump administration tries to tamp down panic for high-skill visa holders after last-minute overhaul, Politico (Sept. 20, 2025), available at https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/20/donald-trump-h1b-visas-overhaul-00574345 ("President Donald Trump's new $100,000 fee for high-skill visa holders only applies to new applicants — not current visa holders who may be on travel outside of the U.S. — according to the White House.").
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