It has been chaos since President Trump signed a proclamation that adds a $100,000 fee for H1B applicants who are outside the US and planning to enter America, as many things were unclear from the announcement.
Earlier today, on Saturday, September 20, 2025, USCIS and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released policy memos clarifying President Trump’s H-1 B proclamation on how it works and who it impacts. Unfortunately, the current policy memo given by CBP and USCIS does not address all the scenarios and leaves more confusion.
In this article, we will review the guidance policy memo by them, summarize it and key points from it, how it impacts the H1B Visa holders, and what is still not clear.
Background: Trump’s H1B Proclamation with $100K Fee
On Friday, September 19, 2025, President Trump signed a proclamation that restricts the entry of H-1B visa holders who are outside the United States to protect American jobs. As per the proclamation, which is similar to an Executive Order(EO), H1B applicants outside of the US must pay $100,000 to the US Government to enter the US on an H1B and work.
The proclamation did not address many scenarios and was very generic, leaving confusion among H1B holders, whether it applies to existing H1B holders in the US, and if they can travel and come back without paying the $100K Fee.
For complete details, you can read the full summary of Trump’s H1B Proclamation with $100K Fee. Below is the screenshot of the key clauses from the signed proclamation.
Many things were not clear, and everyone was waiting for guidance from the USCIS, CBP, or the Department of State. Earlier today, on Saturday, the 20th of September, 2025, both USCIS and CBP published policy guidance on the same, clarifying some aspects of the proclamation.
Let’s look at these details in the following sections.
USCIS and CBP Guidance on Trump’s H1B $100K Fee Proclamation
The USCIS and CBP Policy memo clarifies a few things, but does not clarify everything. So, it is confusing and does not address all the various scenarios. Below is the summary of the guidance:
- Applies to Future H-1B Petitions filed after September 21st, 2025: Trump’s Proclamation with a $100,000 Fee for H-1B Applicants only applies to future H-1B applicants who submit an H-1B petition to USCIS after 12:01 AM EST on September 21st, 2025. Below is the key statement from the USCIS guidance that defines it.
This proclamation only applies prospectively to petitions that have not yet been filed.
- No Impact for current H1B holders: The proclamation does not apply to any of the current H1B holders or applicants who fall under the categories below:
- Current H1B holders with an approved H1B petition.
- Current H1B Applicants who filed an H1B petition with USCIS before the proclamation’s effective date, which is 12:01 AM ET on September 21st, 2025.
- H1B visa holders with a valid H1B visa stamp in their passport.
- No Travel Impact for current H1B Visa Holders: The Proclamation does not impact travel of any of the current H1B Visa holders, who have an H1B Visa issued before the effective date of the proclamation, which is Sep 21st, 2025. They are free to travel to the US or from the US, without any restrictions. They are not subject to the proclamation clause of paying $100K to enter the US.
- USCIS, Dept of State to implement new monetary requirements for New H1B Petitions only: As instructed in the proclamation, USCIS and the US Department of State will start to implement the new monetary requirements for employers submitting H1B petitions for an applicant outside of the US. This does not really differentiate between cap subject vs. cap exempt, and all of them are impacted.
- CBP to continue to process H1B Holders as per existing policies: It says that the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agency would continue to process current H1B holders entering the US Port of Entry as per the existing policies and procedures.
Below is the screenshot of the official guidance from the USCIS. You can check out the official USCIS press release
Below is the screenshot of the official guidance from the CBP. You can check out the official CBP Document from their Twitter Account.
Additional Clarity from White House Press Secretary
There was some confusion following the White House Press conference yesterday. Later, their press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, clarified a few things on Twitter. The message is very much in plain English and self-explanatory.
You can check the screenshot below for the same, and check her Official Tweet as well.
What is not clear from the USCIS and CBP Guidance
Below are some of the unknown scenarios, where there is no clarification from USCIS or CBP:
- The policy memo by USCIS and CBP does not clarify whether it will apply to H1B cap-exempt applicants, such as Universities or Nonprofit research institutions, who are outside of the US.
- It also does not clarify whether the proclamation will apply to applicants who will file an H1B petition as an F1 student for the first time in the US during the next H1B FY 2027 season.
- It does not clarify if the proclamation will apply to someone filing an H1B extension or Transfer after September 21st, 2025, and who goes for stamping outside of the US and tries to enter
- There are many other scenarios like the above where we do not have a clear answer or guidance.
Avoid Travel for H1B Stamping: If you already have a valid H1B Stamp, it is considered safe to travel as per the guidance. But, as the situation is still not clear and many things are unknown, it is best to delay travel if you are planning to go for H1B visa stamping outside of the US.
This is developing news, and we need to wait and see how things will look in the next few days. So, stay tuned.
What are your thoughts, share in comments below.
I was previously on an H-1B visa and have an approved I-140. I am now a Canadian permanent resident. If I decide to move back to the U.S. after few years using H1B, will the $100K fee apply to my petition at that point if it is filed while I’m residing in Canada?
Likely yes. If your previous H-1B status lapsed (i.e. you are no longer maintaining it) and you are applying fresh from Canada, then that would presumably count as “new.” Even if you had an approved I-140, that doesn’t by itself give a continuing H-1B valid visa. So re-filing from outside would count as a new petition.
Probably better to live and stay put in Canada in peace rather than worrying about all these visa tensions and ever changing rules in long run.