On July 4, 2025, President Donald Trump signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21), also known as the Big Beautiful Bill or OB3/OBBBA. While the law encompasses broad tax and spending measures, it also erects substantial new barriers to business-based immigration. After its enactment, the administration has continued to press additional restrictions—most notably a Presidential Proclamation issued September 19, 2025, which imposes a $100,000 supplemental fee on new H‑1B visa entries. Together, these steps mark an aggressive pivot toward constraining legal immigration pathways that companies rely on to attract foreign talent. This article summarizes the combined effects on employment-based immigration, workforce mobility, and how employers should adapt.
Fee Restructuring in the Big Beautiful Bill
Even before the H‑1B Proclamation, the Big Beautiful Bill had already instituted a sweeping, mandatory fee regime that affects nearly all immigration benefits. Key provisions include:
- Employment Authorization Documents (EADs): For asylum candidates, parolees, and TPS recipients, an initial or renewal fee of at least $550, with validity truncated to six months, necessitating more frequent renewals.
- Parole Fee: A minimum $1,000 fee for parole petitions.
- Visa Integrity Fee: A new $250 surcharge on nonimmigrant visas, including business-related visa categories such as H‑1B, L‑1, O‑1, and others.
- Form I-94 Fee: A minimum $24 charge for the travel admission record that many nonimmigrant workers must use and maintain.
- Diversity Visa Lottery Fees: Although this is not strictly business-based, winners often transition into employment pathways; the bill imposes a $250 registration fee and $400 application fee.
- Renewals and Litigation Fees: EAD renewals ($550 each), adjustment of status in court (≥ $1,500), motions to reopen/reconsider and appeals (≥ $900 to $1,500), and cancellation of removal (non‑LPR at least $1,500) are now rigidly monetized, with no waiver allowed.
These fees are indexed to inflation and apply across the board, creating a recurring financial burden for employers and immigrant workers alike. What previously might have been manageable overhead is now a predictable cost shock for any business that relies on foreign-born talent.
The September 19 Proclamation: $100,000 for H‑1B Entry
On September 19, 2025, the Trump administration issued a Presidential Proclamation titled "Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers". The key features are:
- Beginning at 12:01 a.m. EDT on September 21, 2025, any new H‑1B petition for a beneficiary outside the U.S. must include proof of payment of $100,000
- The restriction is scheduled to remain in effect for 12 months, unless extended.
- The Proclamation does not apply to:
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- Beneficiaries of H‑1B petitions filed before September 21, 2025
- H‑1B workers inside the U.S. who seek extensions, amendments, or changes of status
- Reentry on existing valid visas (per agency clarifications)
- It authorizes national interest exemptions, which may permit certain hires or companies to bypass the fee, though criteria and processes remain vague.
- Section 4 of the Proclamation directs the Department of Labor to initiate rulemaking to raise prevailing wage levels, and instructs DHS to prioritize high-skill, high-pay nonimmigrants in future admissions.
- The net effect is that any employer seeking to bring in a new H‑1B worker from abroad faces an additional one-time cost of $100,000 (beyond existing visa fees), with no clear statutory guarantees or legal ground for waiver except under vague "national interest" provisions.
Amplified Barriers to Workforce Mobility
When combined, the Big Beautiful Bill's fee architecture and the H‑1B Proclamation erect a vastly more restrictive environment for workforce mobility, with multiple compounding effects:
Constant Renewal Pressure & Role Lock‑In
The six-month EAD cycles for parolees, TPS, and asylum-based authorization force employees into a near-continuous renewal treadmill. Any delay or processing gap can disrupt work authorization, making job transitions or geographic moves riskier. Many workers will remain in their current roles simply to avoid triggering new applications or scrutiny.
Chilling Effect on Talent Mobility
Workers might shy away from changing employers, negotiating for better roles, or relocating, given uncertainties over authorization, fees, or status compliance. This can reduce lateral movement, slow career progression, and degrade labor fluidity precisely when workplaces increasingly demand adaptability.
Hiring Risk and Compliance Exposure
Employers now face heightened risk: failing to verify timely renewals or managing status lapses could lead to I‑9 violations or sanctions. The new H‑1B fee adds a significant upfront risk to sponsoring foreign talent—if the petition is denied or delayed, the employer still bears the $100,000 cost (unless some refund mechanism is provided). Some firms may avoid new international hiring altogether.
Sectoral Disruptions & Narrower Talent Pools
Industries with heavy reliance on foreign professionals—technology, biomedicine, higher education, engineering—will be most affected. For lower-wage or rural sectors already struggling to recruit domestically (e.g., healthcare in rural hospitals, academic institutions, research labs), the combined financial burden may push many roles unfilled.
In effect, the changes make foreign-born employees more static, less nimble, and more costly to integrate. Workforce mobility—a hallmark of dynamic labor markets—will be seriously constrained under these reforms.
Compounded Impact: Big Beautiful Bill + H‑1B Proclamation
These separate policy strands together create a layered constraint:
- The Big Beautiful Bill targets nearly every step of the immigration lifecycle (EADs, renewals, appeals, visa fees).
- The September 19 Proclamation targets H‑1B entry specifically, and at dramatic cost.
- The combined pressure disincentivizes new foreign recruitment, discourages job switching, and caps growth in sectors dependent on high-skilled foreign labor.
Put another way, the law now requires businesses to internalize immigration as a capital-intensive regulatory burden—not simply a compliance matter. Every new hire or visa decision carries weighty financial, timing, and strategic risk.
How Employers Should Respond
In this new environment, employers must adopt forward-looking strategies to mitigate risk, preserve talent pipelines, and maintain flexibility. Key steps include:
- Reassess budgeting models: Every immigration petition—especially H‑1B entries—now carries heavy fees and legal overhead. Forecast these costs and absorb them into recruitment planning.
- Prioritize internal tracking and renewals: Implement more rigorous systems to monitor EAD expiration and visa deadlines and initiate renewals well ahead of lapse.
- Minimize reliance on uncertain status categories: Favor visa types not subject to six-month renewals or entry restrictions, when possible. Transition workers to more stable status early.
- Conduct risk analysis for new hires: For H‑1B hires abroad, assess whether the $100,000 fee is justifiable given role value, turnover risk, or remote alternatives.
- Engage legal and policy counsel: Seek expert guidance on national interest exemptions, waiver requests, and compliance strategies under shifting rules.
- Advocate collectively: Work through industry associations, state chambers, or public-private partnerships to press for carve-outs or regulatory softness—especially for underserved sectors like rural health or education.
- Diversify talent sourcing: Explore global remote hiring, outsourcing, or nearshore models to mitigate reliance on costly U.S. site-based hires in certain visa classes.
By preparing early and strategically, employers can reduce the risk of being caught off-guard by processing delays, denied petitions, or workforce disruptions.
Conclusion: A New Era of Restrictive Business Immigration
Recent moves by the Trump administration, first via the Big Beautiful Bill's expansive fee regime, and then via the September 19 Proclamation imposing a $100,000 charge on new H‑1B entries, mark a decisive turn toward treating business-based immigration as a controlled, monetized privilege rather than a growth tool. The cumulative impact is less access, stiffer conditions, and a leaner pipeline for foreign talent.
For employers and immigrant professionals, the new landscape demands greater caution: higher costs, shrunk mobility, and magnified risk. Those who fail to adapt their practices, staffing strategies, and budgets risk losing competitive positioning in recruiting global talent. In an era where labor flexibility is increasingly a strategic asset, these reforms may slow innovation, constrain growth, and reshape U.S. competitiveness in the long run.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
