On Sept. 18, 2026, the White House announced two significant actions affecting the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program. The first, an executive order titled “Enhancing Program Integrity and Interagency Coordination in the Administration of the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Program,” directs federal agencies to increase coordination and scrutiny of H-1B petitions, labor condition applications, visas, and entries. The second, a presidential proclamation titled “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers,” extends for another 12 months the restriction on the entry of certain H-1B workers unless the petition is accompanied or supplemented by a $100,000 payment, subject to limited exceptions.
Together, these measures create additional considerations for employers sponsoring H-1B workers, particularly employers with recent or anticipated workforce reductions, employers using staffing or outsourcing models, and employers seeking to bring H-1B workers to the United States from abroad.
1. Enhanced Interagency Scrutiny of H-1B Cases
The Sept. 18 executive order directs the Departments of State, Labor, and Homeland Security (DHS) to coordinate with the Departments of Commerce and Education and the Small Business Administration when processing H-1B labor condition applications, petitions, visas, and entries.
Under the order, the additional agencies may provide information concerning wages, employment, academic qualifications, industry conditions, and other economic factors relevant to H-1B adjudications.
Of particular importance to employers, agencies are directed to consider whether an H-1B sponsor has directly or indirectly engaged in layoffs during the preceding year or plans future layoffs that negatively affect similarly situated U.S. workers. The order also directs the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division to begin, within 30 days, reviewing data associated with previously submitted labor condition applications to determine whether additional action may be warranted.
This represents an important compliance consideration for employers that have recently undertaken reductions in force or are contemplating workforce reductions while maintaining or initiating H-1B sponsorship.
2. The $100,000 Payment Requirement Continues
The accompanying presidential proclamation extends the restrictions established under the September 2025 proclamation for an additional 12 months, through Sept. 21, 2027, unless further extended or otherwise modified.
The proclamation restricts certain H-1B specialty-occupation workers from entering the United States unless the relevant petition includes a $100,000 payment, subject to specified exceptions. The restriction applies to H-1B workers who are outside the United States and who must seek admission to effectuate the relevant petition’s approval. The proclamation specifically addresses admission through consular processing, notification at a port of entry, pre-flight inspection, and pre-clearance.
The proclamation took effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Sept. 21, 2026, and is scheduled to expire 12 months later unless extended.
The $100,000 payment requirement remains subject to ongoing litigation. On June 8, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated the agency guidance implementing the payment requirement in State of California v. Mullin, No. 1:25-cv-13829. The First Circuit subsequently denied the government’s request for a stay on July 24, 2026.
As a result of the court order, collecting the $100,000 payment is currently paused under the prior proclamation. USCIS has indicated that it will comply with the court’s order while it considers next steps and has stated that it intends to collect the payment if the court order is lifted. Given the new proclamation extending the restrictions, we are awaiting further guidance from USCIS regarding whether and when collection of the $100,000 payment will resume.
Accordingly, while the new proclamation extends the underlying entry restrictions through Sept. 21, 2027, the practical application and collection of the $100,000 payment remain subject to the ongoing litigation and further agency guidance.
3. Important Distinction: Petition Approval vs. Entry
Employers and foreign nationals should distinguish between the H-1B petition process and the separate question of admission to the United States.
The September 2026 proclamation provides that DHS shall restrict decisions on petitions not accompanied by the $100,000 payment for H-1B workers who are currently outside the United States. It also directs the Departments of State and Homeland Security to take appropriate action to deny entry when the required payment has not been made.
Accordingly, employers may wish to evaluate not only whether an H-1B petition can be filed or approved, but also whether the beneficiary would need to obtain admission to the United States to begin or continue the contemplated employment.
4. Limited National-Interest Exception
The proclamation contains an exception that permits the secretary of homeland security, at the secretary’s discretion, to determine that the restriction should not apply to an individual, all H-1B workers employed by a particular company, or all H-1B workers in an industry.
The exception is available where DHS determines that hiring the H-1B workers is in the national interest and does not pose a threat to the security or welfare of the United States.
Because the proclamation leaves this determination to DHS’s discretion, employers might not assume that the exception would apply to a particular case without further guidance or a specific determination.
5. Increased Risk for Employers with Layoffs
The executive order’s treatment of layoffs is particularly significant.
Federal agencies are now directed to consider whether an H-1B-sponsoring employer has undertaken layoffs within the preceding year or plans future layoffs affecting similarly situated U.S. workers.
Employers that have conducted reductions in force may wish to review their H-1B sponsorship practices alongside their workforce actions. Relevant considerations may include:
- The timing and scope of recent layoffs;
- Whether affected U.S. workers performed duties similar to those described in H-1B petitions;
- Whether H-1B sponsorship continued following a reduction in the relevant workforce;
- The wage levels and job duties associated with sponsored positions;
- The employer’s labor condition application history; and
- Whether anticipated workforce changes might affect current or planned H-1B sponsorship.
The executive order does not establish a categorical prohibition on H-1B sponsorship by an employer that has conducted layoffs. Rather, it directs the relevant agencies to take such layoffs into account when considering H-1B-related applications, petitions, visas, and entries.
6. Employers Using Staffing and Outsourcing Models Should Take Note
The White House specifically identifies staffing and outsourcing arrangements as an area of concern in both Sept. 18 actions.
The proclamation states that the administration’s earlier restrictions had resulted in a substantial reduction in H-1B registrations by large IT staffing and outsourcing firms. It reports that the combined registrations of the largest such firms declined from 24,946 to 2,055 between the cited fiscal-year periods.
The executive order likewise directs agencies to scrutinize compliance with statutory requirements and permits the use of additional employment, wage, academic, industrial, and economic information when evaluating H-1B cases.
Employers relying on third-party placement arrangements, consulting structures, or other staffing models may wish to confirm that petition documentation accurately reflects the underlying employment relationship, worksite, duties, wage information, and qualifications of the H-1B worker.
7. Employer Considerations
In light of these developments, employers should consider the following steps:
- Review current H-1B sponsorship. Identify H-1B workers who are outside the United States and determine whether upcoming travel or initial admission may implicate the $100,000 payment requirement.
- Assess recent layoffs. Review reductions in force during the preceding 12 months and determine whether affected positions overlap with positions currently or recently sponsored through the H-1B program.
- Audit labor condition application and petition records. Confirm that job duties, worksites, wages, educational qualifications, and employment arrangements remain accurate and consistent across immigration filings and underlying company records.
- Coordinate immigration and employment counsel. Workforce reductions, reorganizations, outsourcing arrangements, and H-1B sponsorship should be evaluated together rather than as separate processes.
- Monitor agency guidance. The Sept. 18 executive order expressly delegates authority to the Departments of State, Commerce, Labor, and Homeland Security to issue or adopt rules, policies, operational guidance, or other guidance necessary to implement the order.
8. Takeaways
The September 2026 actions signal continued federal attention to H-1B program compliance, wage protections, workforce impacts, and the use of H-1B workers in staffing and outsourcing arrangements.
For employers, the practical effect might extend beyond the $100,000 payment requirement. H-1B sponsorship decisions may increasingly need to be considered alongside an employer’s workforce history, compensation practices, organizational structure, and use of third-party staffing arrangements.
Because implementation details may develop through agency guidance and future rulemaking, employers should monitor developments closely and consider evaluating H-1B cases based on the specific facts of each employee and sponsoring organization.
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