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On September 19, 2025, President Trump issued a proclamation titled Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers. Among the several provisions of the proclamation, the most immediately impactful is one that orders that, effective 12:01 a.m. EDT on Sunday, September 21, 2025, any individual seeking to enter or reenter the U.S. in H-1B status will not be admitted unless they show proof of payment of a $100,000 fee. The proclamation is currently scheduled to remain in effect for 12 months, though it may be extended.
The announcement resulted in mass confusion and panic over the weekend for employers and foreign national employees as they scrambled to understand the implications of the proclamation.
The administration has subsequently issued several more announcements in an effort to clarify the terms of the proclamation. There remains a substantial amount of uncertainty and confusion, as the subsequent announcements have offered statements conflicting with the original order.
Important Takeaways:
- The administration has made clear that the order DOES NOT apply to any H-1B petition filed prior to 12:01am on September 21, 2025.
- The $100,000 fee arguably applies solely to H-1B petitions filed on September 21, 2025 or later for beneficiaries who are outside the U.S.
- The administration has stated that employees with H-1B petitions filed prior to September 21, 2025 are eligible to continue traveling and obtaining H-1B visa stamps.
- While the proclamation contains language that indicates there may be "national interest exceptions" to the order, there is no guidance yet on how such exceptions are to be requested or adjudicated.
- It remains uncertain whether the proclamation applies to individuals in the U.S. who are filing change/extension of status or change of employer. The guidance has not been clear on this particular issue, but it is likely that there are strong arguments against the applicability of the order to individuals already in the U.S.
As we await further developments on the implementation of the order, the most crucial points we can offer at this time are:
- H-1B workers in the U.S. should continue to minimize any foreign travel due to the current uncertainty; and
- Any H-1B workers currently outside the U.S. should be advised to consider returning to the U.S. immediately.
- There will certainly be litigation challenging this order and there could be the possibility of a temporary injunction, but at the current time we must operate under the assumption that the terms of the proclamation are in effect and binding.
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