US extends $100,000 H-1B entry restriction to September 2027
by 
Babylon Radio
Listen nowThe United States has extended its H-1B entry restriction for another 12 months, keeping the $100,000 employer payment requirement for covered H-1B petitions involving workers outside the country until 21 September 2027. The extension was signed on 18 September 2026 and continues the framework introduced in September 2025. It is not a blanket $100,000 charge on every H-1B holder.
The White House proclamation says entry as an H-1B specialty-occupation worker is restricted unless the relevant petition is accompanied or supplemented by a $100,000 payment, subject to national-interest exceptions. It also directs the Department of Homeland Security to restrict decisions on affected petitions for workers who are currently outside the United States.
What changed on 18 September 2026?
The main change is time. The White House extended the 2025 H-1B entry restriction for another year. The new proclamation takes effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on 21 September 2026 and is due to run for 12 months, taking the restriction through 21 September 2027 unless it is extended again or altered by a court or later government action.
The proclamation states that employers must obtain and retain documentation showing that the required payment has been made before filing a covered H-1B petition for a worker outside the United States. The State Department must verify receipt during the visa process, while State and Homeland Security are directed to deny entry where the required payment has not been made.
Who does the $100,000 requirement affect?
The wording matters. Section 1 of the 2026 proclamation focuses on H-1B specialty-occupation workers who are outside the United States and need admission to the country to take up the approved employment. The restriction covers entry connected with consular notification, a port of entry, pre-flight inspection or pre-clearance.
The State Department’s implementation guidance for the original 2025 proclamation says the restriction applied to people seeking visa issuance or US entry based on H-1B petitions filed after the original effective date. It also states that no visas were revoked under that proclamation.
Reuters reported on 18 September that the original restriction did not apply to renewals of current H-1B visas or to foreign nationals already in the United States on student visas who moved into H-1B status. The 2026 action extends the existing proclamation rather than announcing a completely new visa category or across-the-board fee.
Are there exceptions?
Yes. The Homeland Security Secretary can exempt an individual, all workers employed by a particular company, or workers in an industry if the Secretary determines that their employment is in the national interest and does not threaten US security or welfare.
Because these determinations are discretionary, employers and prospective workers should check the latest DHS, USCIS and State Department guidance before relying on an exception.
Why has the restriction been extended?
The administration says the payment and other H-1B reforms have reduced applications from large IT staffing and outsourcing companies and shifted selections towards higher-paid and more highly qualified workers. The White House says more than 700 petitions have so far been accompanied by the $100,000 payment.
A separate executive order signed on 18 September directs federal agencies to coordinate more closely when reviewing H-1B labour condition applications, petitions, visas and entries. It tells agencies to consider whether a sponsoring employer directly or indirectly carried out layoffs in the previous year, or plans future layoffs, that negatively affect similarly situated US workers. The order also requires the Department of Labor to begin reviewing data from previously submitted labour condition applications within 30 days to assess whether enforcement action against sponsoring employers may be warranted. This does not mean that a recent layoff automatically disqualifies every H-1B sponsor: the order makes layoff history a factor for agencies to consider, and further operational guidance may still follow.
Those statements set out the administration’s policy rationale. They should not be read as independent findings about every employer or H-1B worker.
The policy is still facing legal challenges
The $100,000 requirement remains the subject of litigation. Reuters reports that a Boston-based federal appeals court is reviewing a June decision by a federal judge who held the higher payment unlawful and blocked the government from collecting it. A separate challenge brought by the US Chamber of Commerce is also moving through the courts.
That means the practical position could change. Employers planning an overseas H-1B hire should verify current government guidance and any relevant court orders immediately before filing or arranging travel.
What should internationally mobile professionals do now?
If you are already in H-1B status, changing status from another US visa, renewing, applying from abroad or planning international travel, do not assume that the same rule applies in every case. Your position can depend on where you are, when the petition was filed, the type of processing requested and whether an exception applies.
For employers, the critical question is whether the worker is outside the United States and must seek admission to take up the H-1B employment. For prospective workers, the safest approach is to confirm the petition and travel position with the sponsoring employer and current official guidance before making irreversible relocation plans.
Official sources
The primary source is the White House proclamation dated 18 September 2026. The US Department of State guidance on the original restriction explains the scope of the 2025 implementation. The White House also issued a separate H-1B programme-integrity executive order on 18 September 2026.
Last verified: 19 September 2026. This article explains current published rules and is not individual immigration or legal advice.