On Friday, September 19, President Trump issued a proclamation imposing a new $100,000 fee on certain H-1B employers and beneficiaries. See Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers – The White House. The proclamation became effective 12:01 a.m. EDT Sunday, September 21, 2025 and expires after twelve months but may be extended.
When first released, the proclamation’s broad wording implied that it could potentially impact the travel and reentry of all existing H-1B visa holders, rather than only first-time H-1B beneficiaries. This led to widespread concern and a rush for H-1B visa holders to return to the United States. On Saturday evening, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a memorandum limiting the impact of the proclamation. Additionally, on Sunday, September 20, the White House published an H-1B FAQ confirming that the $100,000 fee applies to H-1B Petitions submitted for the 2026 lottery and any other new H-1B Petitions filed after the effective date. Due to conflicting language in guidance issued since the original proclamation, questions remain regarding which “new” H-1B Petitions are impacted.
The wide media coverage of and speculation about the new fee and related travel restrictions have heightened the already high anxiety among foreign national employees on H-1B visas and led to uncertainty for employers guiding their H-1B workers on the proclamation’s impact.
While key details have yet to be announced and legal challenges could delay implementation, here is what we know so far:
Link to The Proclamation The Proclamation
- Only applies prospectively to H-1B petitions that have not yet been filed. It does not apply to beneficiaries of petitions filed prior to the effective date to the proclamation, beneficiaries of currently approved petitions, or beneficiaries in possession of validly issued H-1B non-immigrant visas.
- Impacted H-1B beneficiaries are restricted from entry to the United States unless they have paid the $100,000 fee.
- Prohibits adjudication of “new” H-1B Petitions without proof of payment of the $100,000 fee for H-1B.
- Directs the Secretary of State to issue guidance to prevent the misuse of B visas by H-1B beneficiaries with employment start dates prior to October 1, 2026.
- Provides a national interest exception to the $100,000 fee for those workers, companies, or industries for which the Secretary of Homeland Security determines the H-1B workers’ employment is in the national interest and does not pose a security threat.
- Requires employers to obtain proof of payment of the $100,000 fee before filing an H-1B Petition for a worker outside the United States as a condition of approval.
- Requires that within 30 days of the next H-1B lottery in March of 2026 the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Homeland Secretary shall jointly submit a recommendation on whether an extension of the restriction on reentry is in the best interest of the United States.
- Directs the Secretary of Labor to initiate rulemaking to revise prevailing wage levels.
- Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to prioritize admission of high-skilled and high paid foreign nationals.
Click here to read more, including our FAQs and how employers can prepare employees.
Baker McKenzie’s Global Immigration & Mobility team will provide further developments as they become available.