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). The new restriction takes effect as of 12:01 am eastern time on Sunday, September 21, 2025. It appears that no current or future H-1B visa holders will be able to enter the United States after that time until employers are able, at some future date, to submit new petitions accompanied by the required $100,000 payment, if they elect to do so.1
The Proclamation does not expressly address how it applies to current H-1B visa holders, but its plain terms would appear to bar their entry into the United States once the Proclamation takes effect. Any H-1B visa holder currently outside of the United States seeking to return therefore must do so before 12:01 am eastern time on Sunday. Those seeking to return should take care to ensure that they are able to be processed and enter prior to the deadline. Additionally, H-1B visa holders currently in the United States may wish to consider deferring planned international travel.
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.”
