Last Updated: September 22, 2025, 11:55AM
On September 19, 2025, President Trump issued a Proclamation requiring an additional $100,000 fee for certain H-1B petitions effective on September 21, 2025 (Sunday). While the Proclamation is vague and the guidance issued since then (White House FAQ, USCIS memo, USCIS FAQ, CBP memo) still leaves a lot of unanswered questions, we will outline in this blog the things that are known, the things that are still unclear, and our recommendations for the time being. This blog will be updated as new information comes to light so please make sure and revisit it.
Who Is Affected?
The petitions that will require the new $100,000 fee are only new petitions filed on or after September 21, 2025 for those who were outside the United States on September 19, 2025.
Who Is NOT Affected?
This new fee does not apply to those who:
- Have petitions filed prior to September 21, 2025 even if they were out of the US on September 19, 2025.
- Have petitions approved prior to September 21, 2025 even if they were out of the US on September 19, 2025.
- Will file petitions for extensions or amendments of status even after September 21, 2025.
What Is Still Unclear?
The Proclamation and the guidance do not address whether the new fee will apply to petitions for a change of status (i.e. changing from F-1 or J-1 to H-1B) filed after September 21, 2025 for those who were in the US on September 19, 2025. The legal justification for this Proclamation comes from laws that provide the President with power to prevent foreign nationals from entering the country under certain circumstances, and the plain language of the Proclamation actually references those laws and states it applies to those outside the U.S. Nevertheless, there is no explicit statement that it does not apply to petitions for changes of status, so for now we are keeping this in the “unknown” section until there is more official guidance.
There is also conflicting guidance from the White House Press Secretary and memos from USCIS and CBP. For example, the White House Press Secretary stated that this will apply to cap-subject H-1B petitions next year, whereas the USCIS and CBP memos state that it will apply immediately.
As stated above, we will update this blog as new information becomes available, so please bookmark it and return to it frequently for the latest news.
Are There Exceptions to this New Rule?
Yes, there are exceptions to this new fee. DHS has discretion to waive the $100,000 payment if:
- The hiring of specific H-1B workers,
- The hiring of all H-1B workers at a particular company, or
- The hiring of all H-1B workers in an entire industry
is deemed in the national interest and not a threat to U.S. security or welfare.
It is also unclear whether the proclamation will apply to employers that are cap-exempt, such as government or non-profit research entities or colleges and universities. There have been some news reports that the White House is already considering industry-wide exceptions such as for physicians.
There is no announced process or guidelines on how to apply for these National Interest Exceptions (NIE).
Will There Be Litigation?
It is virtually certain that there will be litigation on this issue. In fact, top notch immigration litigators around the country started preparing to sue the government almost immediately after the proclamation was issued on Friday night. A policy like this will likely not stand up to legal challenges. However, litigation can be slow, so it’s uncertain when we may see results from the courts.
What Should You Do Now?
If you are in the category of “not affected,” you should continue to live your life normally and not take any action items at this point. If you have international travel plans coming up, we recommend postponing or canceling them until we have more guidance/clarity of what this will look like and to give litigation time to work through the court system. For those clients of our firm who are affected by this policy, we will proactively reach out and discuss options. Please be patient and judicious of your attorney’s time since we are being inundated with calls and emails, largely from clients who are not affected by this policy.
