10/09/2025
🔍 What the Proclamation Says & Immediate Effects
On September 19, 2025, President Trump signed a proclamation titled “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers.”
The restriction becomes effective 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on September 21, 2025.
The proclamation mandates that new H-1B petitions filed on or after that time must be accompanied by a $100,000 payment by the employer.
The restriction is limited in time: it is slated to last for 12 months, unless extended or modified.
âś… What Is (Relatively) Clear / What the Administration Has Clarified
The restriction applies only prospectively — i.e. to petitions filed after the effective date. It does not apply to petitions filed before September 21, 2025.
It also does not apply to individuals who already hold valid H-1B visas, or to currently approved petitions.
The agencies (USCIS, CBP, Department of State) have issued clarifications and guidance to interpret these limits.
Extensions, amendments, and change-of-employer filings for existing H-1B holders likely are not covered — they are not new entries. That said, some ambiguity remains.
The proclamation includes a “national interest” exception: the Secretary of Homeland Security may exempt individuals or entire classes of H-1B hires if deemed beneficial and not harmful to U.S. interests.
🚨 What Is Still Uncertain / What’s Being Challenged
Whether change-of-status petitions or petitions filed for beneficiaries already in the U.S. (but not H-1B status) will be required to pay the $100,000 or be blocked remains a gray area.
It’s unclear how visa stamping if someone travels abroad might be affected, for those who have existing petitions or are impacted by needing reentry.
The legality of the proclamation is already being challenged. On October 3, 2025, a coalition including health care, education, religious, and labor organizations filed a lawsuit in federal court (Northern District of California) to block the $100,000 fee policy.
Plaintiffs argue the administration overstepped its authority (claiming only Congress can impose such fees) and that the proclamation was implemented without proper regulatory process.
Because the proclamation is still new, further agency regulations, policy clarifications, and court rulings could modify or even nullify parts of it.
🧩 Bottom Line (As of Now)
The new policy imposes a one-time $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions filed on or after September 21, 2025.
It does not apply to existing H-1B visa holders, petitions filed before that date, or currently approved petitions.
The proclamation is temporary (12 months) unless extended.
Many details remain ambiguous, and litigation is already underway to challenge the changes.
