On September 18th, 2026, President Trump signed two orders that will impact the H1B visa program. The first was a new Executive Order that directs companies to consider a company’s previous layoffs and future layoffs for H1B approvals, and the second one was a Proclamation that extends the $100K fee for H1B applicants applying from outside the US for another year, until Sep 2027, which is an extension of Sep 2025’s proclamation on the same.
In this article, we will review the background, how each of these will work, and how it will impact H1B visa applicants, including the next steps on the same. We will also review the current regulations that the Trump administration is pursuing in the same areas and lawsuits that are currently ongoing and potential of having lawsuits for the current new orders.
Background: Trump’s Executive Order $100K fee for H1B Applicants
- President Trump’s Proclamation: President Trump signed a proclamation on Sep 19th, 2025, that added a $100K fee and directed the Department of Labor to adjust the prevailing wage levels for H1B workers. After that, in the last one year, the Trump administration complethe followingelow actions:
- H1B Weighted Selection Process Final Rule: DHS published a final rule and implemented the H1B Weighted Selection process based on H1B wage levels for the H1B FY 2027 season. You can read more at Everything about H1B Wage Levels Based Lottery
- Change Wage Levels of H1B Proposed Rule: The US Department of Labor(DOL) on March 27th, 2026, published a Proposed Rule in the Federal Register that changes the Wage Levels for H1B, PERM, H1B1, and E3. You can read more at H1B Prevailing Wage Levels Changes Regulation Explained
- Lawsuits on Trump’s Proclamation of H1B $100K Fee: There were multiple lawsuits that were filed across multiple courts on the $100K Fee. Below is the current status on them:
- Chamber of Commerce v. DHS: On Dec 23, 2025, the D.C. District Court upheld the fee, giving USCIS the ability to collect the $100K fee.
- State of California et al. v. Markwayne Mullin, et al.: On June 8th, 2026, Judge Sorokin from the District Court in Massachusetts removed the $100,000 fee proclamation, saying that it is an unlawful tax and the President does not have such powers. Later, DHS filed an appeal, and that is still ongoing. DHS said that they will comply with the court order on July 28th, 2026.
- Global Nurse Force v. Trump: This case is still pending, and no notable action has come out yet.
With the above key things in context around past proclamation, its relevant regulations and lawsuits related to the same, let’s dive into the new orders signed by President Trump on Sep 18th, 2026.
đź“ş You can watch the YouTube video of this article at : New Executive Orders by Trump: Consider Layoffs for H1B approval, $100K fee until 2027.
New Executive Order: Consider Layoffs for H1B Approvals
President Trump signed an executive order that says “ENHANCING PROGRAM INTEGRITY AND INTERAGENCY COORDINATION IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE H-1B NONIMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM“, which focuses on considering a company’s layoffs activity for any H1B approvals. Below are the key points from the executive order:
- Consider Layoffs in last one year, future for Approvals: US Dept. of State, US Dept. of Labor, and Dept. of Homeland Security should consider layoffs done by a company either directly or indirectly in the last one year and plans for layoffs in the future when they are approving an H1B application related Labor Condition Application(LCA), H1B petition or H1B Visa and planning to enter the US. This is mainly to ensure that such approvals will not impact the similar American Workers.
- Coordination Across All Agencies for H1B approvals: To ensure compliance of the H1B petition approvals, LCA approvals, and H1B Visa approvals to meet the actual program guidelines, the Executive Order directs all the agencies such as US Dept. of State, US Dept. of Labor, and Dept. of Homeland Security to work with Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Education, and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to work together when approving any H1B Petitions, H1B LCAs or H1B Visas to enter the US.
- Review within 30 Days of the Order: It also directs the Dept. of Labor to start reviewing the previously submitted H1B LCA applications to check for the above guidelines related to layoffs in their companies, as per the regulation 212(n)(2)(G), and take necessary action on the same.
Below is the screenshot of the actual text related to the Executive Order describing the above changes:
Proclamation: $100K Fee for H1B Applicants Outside of the US until Sep 2027
President Trump signed another Proclamation that says “RESTRICTION ON ENTRY OF CERTAIN NONIMMIGRANT WORKERS”, extending the previous Proclamation for another one year that will last until September 21st, 2027. Below is the summary of the Proclamation signed:
Entry Restricted for Certain H1B Visa Holders: Similar to the previous Proclamation, it says the entry of H1B visa applicants into the US at a port of entry (POE) is restricted. Below are the conditions of entry for H1B Visa holders:
- Only those H1B visa holders who have paid $100,000, unless they fall under the exceptions for national interest, are allowed to enter the US starting from the effective date of the proclamation, which is 12:01 EST on September 21, 2026. It will be valid for 12 months from the effective date.
- USCIS will not make any decisions on petitions submitted for H1B Applicants who are outside the US, unless they pay the $100K additional fee. The Secreatry of State will verify the receipt of payment and only approve the ones that have made such payment.
- Companies, before filing an H1B petition for anyone outside of the US, must make a payment of $100,000 to the US Government and submit the documentation to USCIS. If they do not submit the proof of payment, USCIS will not approve the H1B petition for such applicants.
- USCIS and the US Department of State, which controls entry at the US ports of entry, will coordinate and deny entry for H1B applicants whose employer has not made the $100K payment.
- The Proclamation text is pretty much same as what was announced last year, just couple of changes where they removed text related to the DOL to review the H1B Wage Levels and H1B Lottery aspects.
Below is the screenshot of the actual text related to the Proclamation describing the above changes:
Comparison with 2025’s H1B $100K Fee Proclamation
| Provision in Proclamation | 2025 Proclamation 10973 | 2026 Proclamation |
|---|---|---|
| Period | Sept 21, 2025 – Sept 21, 2026 | Sept 21, 2026 – Sept 21, 2027 |
| $100K payment: Who does it cover? | New petitions for workers outside the US | Unchanged |
| National Interest exception | DHS Secretary’s discretion | Unchanged |
| Scope of “Entry” | Anyone entering after the effective date | NEW: includes consular notification, port-of-entry notification, pre-flight inspection, pre-clearance |
| B Visa abuse guidance | State Dept told to act | Removed |
| DOL / DHS rulemaking orders | Both told to start rules | Removed — mentioned as done / in progress |
| Next extension review | 30 days after FY 2027 lottery | 30 days after next lottery (FY 2028), “further” extension |
| Court ruling vacating the $100K Fee | — | Not mentioned |
Now that we have an understanding of the same, let’s quicky look at what other things Trump administration is doing related to this proclamation:
DHS Proposed Rule: $103,265 Fee for H1B Petitions
As the Trump Administration lost legal battles over the H1B proclamation’s $100K fee, they are, in parallel, pursuing another regulation at the proposed rule stage, with a comment period ending Sep 24th, 2026. Below are the details:
- Every H1B cap-subject petition would be subject to a $103,265 fee, including change of status.
- Their rationale in the rule is it costs about $ 8.8 billion for various agencies and they are putting this fee to recover the costs of administering the program.
- You can read full details at Federal Register – Fee for Certain H1B petitions
- You can watch YouTube Video that talks about $103K Fee for H1B
The rule is not final yet and it may also face legal challenges are the fee is significant and will impact many employers.
Chance of Lawsuits on the Layoffs Executive Order, $100K Fee Proclamation
The chances of lawsuits being filed against both of these orders are very high. Below are some of the reasons we think lawsuits maybe filed:
Layoffs Executive Order for H1B Approvals
The Layoffs-related Executive Order uses the sections101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), 212(n), 214(i), 215(a), and 274B of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Below is what they mean.
| INA citation | What the section is about |
|---|---|
| INA § 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) | Defines the H1B visa category in the INA; very general. |
| INA § 212(n) | Labor Condition Application displacement rules for H1B employers who are H1B dependent or willful violators. |
| INA § 214(i) | Defines “specialty occupation” and worker qualifications around the same. |
| INA § 215(a) | Presidential authority to restrict entry/departure during certain conditions |
| INA § 274B | Anti-discrimination rules in immigration-related employment practices |
If we look closely, the layoffs are part of the 212(n), and as per the regulation, they cannot be applied to all employers. It is only restricted to certain employers who are H1B dependent or categorized as willful violators. This is likely the key point that would be used in courts.
Other aspects are not directly related and they talk about general compliance and more scruity and we may see some more policy manual updates on the same for tighter adjudication.
$100K Fee Proclamation for H1B applicants outside of the US
There are at least three lawsuits on the $100K fee for H1B applicants who are outside of the US, and DHS has clearly lost in one big lawsuit nationwide, and they agreed to comply. The other two are in progress. Considering the arguments, very likely this will either end up in the Supreme Court or be challenged in the same courts, where the previous parties won.
What’s Next?
We can expect to see some policy updates or guidance from the USCIS or US Dept of Labor. As of now, we do not have any updates, we will keep you posted on the same.
What do you think of these orders? Do you think, they will make it through lawsuits? Share your thoughts in comments section below.
