News

On Friday, September 19, 2025, the White House issued a proclamation announcing a $100,000 fee for new H-1B petitions filed after 12:01 AM ET on Sunday, September 21, 2025 (the “effective date” of the proclamation). Subsequently, the Department of State, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued guidance to clarify certain aspects of the proclamation. Unfortunately, the published guidance to date does not address all potential impacts and inconsistencies among the agency communications regarding the new requirement.

Based on the guidance and our experience over the past week, we believe the new $100,000 H-1B fee should not affect the following:

• Petitions that were approved before the effective date of the proclamation.
• Petitions that were filed before the effective date of the proclamation, even if those petitions are still pending with USCIS.
• Extension of status petitions filed for current H-1B workers.
• International travel for individuals with a valid H-1B visa in their passport on the effective date of the proclamation. These individuals may re-enter the United States using their valid H-1B visa without the need to pay the $100,000 fee. Note that Canadian citizens do not require an H-1B visa in their passport; they may re-enter the United States by presenting a valid H-1B approval notice along with their valid passport.
• International travel for individuals who are the beneficiaries of H-1B petitions filed with USCIS before the effective date of the proclamation. These individuals should be able to obtain a new or renewed H-1B visa without the need to pay the $100,000 fee. This includes beneficiaries of H-1B “cap” petitions with October 1, 2025 start dates.

We are awaiting clarification regarding the following:

• Whether the new $100,000 fee will affect “change of employer” petitions on behalf of individuals who held H-1B status before the effective date of the proclamation.
• How the $100,000 will be applied to the March 2026 H-1B lottery.
• Who is eligible for and how to seek a National Interest Exception to the $100,000 fee. The proclamation contains no exceptions to the fee requirement for small employers, non-profit employers, and cap-exempt employers.
• The payment mechanism for the $100,000 fee.

The proclamation is effective for 12 months after the effective date and may be extended.

We will continue to provide updates as guidance becomes available. Late next week we will be hosting a free webinar covering the $100,000 H-1B fee, new H-1B regulations, and the proposed “Gold Card” program. Stay tuned for more details.