Immigration Alert: Presidential Action Regarding H-1B Visa Employees 

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This evening a Presidential Proclamation was issued that will have an immediate impact on any H-1B visa employee who is currently traveling, or is contemplating traveling outside of the United States. This Proclamation imposes a $100,000 payment by the Petitioner of an H-1B visa (i.e., the employer) before those H-1B visa employees may return to the United States. This is effective Sunday, September 21, 2025 at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time.

Please contact us if you have any H-1B visa employees who are currently traveling outside of the country, or have upcoming plans to travel. 

Advise any H-1B travelers to return to the United States before Sunday, September 21

• This Proclamation will likely be subject to court action, as it involves substantial and novel legal issues.  But in the meantime it will have immediate effect on anyone with an H-1B visa traveling into the United States on or after Sunday, September 21, 2025.
• In large part, the Proclamation is based on INA 212(f), which states: Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate.
• The Proclamation is also based in part on INA 215(a), which states in pertinent part:  Unless otherwise ordered by the President, it shall be unlawful for any alien to depart from or enter or attempt to depart from or enter the United States except under such reasonable rules, regulations, and orders, and subject to such limitations and exceptions as the President may prescribe.
• The Proclamation only affects H-1B employees who are entering the United States on an H-1B visa.  It does not impact any H-1B employee already present in the United States.
• The Proclamation does not restrict or require a $100,000 payment for new H-1B visa petitions filed by employers for workers who are already present in the United States.  It also does not effect extensions, amendments, or change of employer H-1B visa petitions as long as the affected worker is physically present in the United States.
• The Proclamation also includes an important carve-out for workers, companies, and industries determined to be “in the national interest and does not pose a threat to the security or welfare of the United States.” As of today, we do not know how this determination will be made.
• Currently there is no mechanism to pay the $100,000 supplemental amount.

This Proclamation does not affect:

• H-1B1 employees
• H-4 spouses or H-4 minor dependents
• H-4 EADs
• E-3 employees

Please remind your foreign national employees to be very careful and suspicious of social media reports regarding this and encourage them to not make any derogatory comments in social media accounts linked to them, which may impact their ability to re-enter the United States in the future. 

As soon as possible we will be providing reliable further guidance and information as it becomes available.