On September 19, 2025, President Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation restricting the entry of H-1B workers into the US unless a new fee of $100,000 is paid or a national interest exception applies. This restriction became effective on September 21, 2025, and is valid for one year (unless extended).
On September 20, 2025, USCIS issued a memorandum clarifying which H-1B workers are subject to the new fee. It states that it only applies prospectively to H-1B petitions that have not yet been filed. It notes that it does not apply to beneficiaries of H-1B petitions that were filed prior to the effective date of the proclamation, beneficiaries of currently approved H-1B petitions or those foreign nationals in possession of a validly issued H-1B visa. It states that the proclamation does not impact any current H-1B visa holder’s ability to travel to or from the United States.
There are still many questions swirling around this ambiguous new fee and H-1B restriction. For example, we do not know whether it apply to F-1 students who win an H-1B visa number in March 2026’s visa lottery (the 2027 H-1B lottery), have remained in the US since the effective date of September 21, 2025, and are requesting to change their status in the US and not depart the US to trigger H-1B employment.
My office will continue to provide guidance on this evolving H-1B fee and travel restriction.