Early Saturday (09/20/2025), we published an alert about the Presidential Proclamation restricting H-1B entry (“EO”) without the payment of a $100,000.00 fee. The EO states that H-1Bs entering the U.S. after 12:01 a.m. EDT Sunday September 21, 2025 would be required to pay the fee, as would Petitions that were filed and pending for individuals out of the U.S. 

Subsequently, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt published an update on X to clarify the EO’s application. While her post contradicts the clear language of the EO, it was later partially confirmed by USCIS Director Edlow in a memorandum. Importantly, both the Press Secretary and USCIS confirm the EO only applies to prospective petitions, ones that have not yet been filed, meaning that the fee will not be applied to existing holders of valid visas re-entering the country or to pending H-1B cases already filed. 

We have been in touch with CBP at several large ports of entry who confirmed that this restriction on entry does not apply to those who already hold H-1B visas. That said, the ports of entry have been inconsistent in their understanding of the Proclamation, with one indicating it applies to H-1B’s beginning 10/01/2025 and another confirming they had no official guidance from headquarters and didn’t know how they were to interpret the EO. Based on the announcements, lack of coordination by CBP, and self-reports from clients traveling into the U.S., it is clear that the application of the EO has not yet been triggered for existing H-1B holders.  

Thus, reports at this time suggest current H-1B holders are safe to enter. This seems to be a move by the Administration to offer “clarity” to the proclamation’s enforcement to avoid the wave of lawsuits many planned to file in the wake of Friday’s executive order.  

Still, there remains a significant disparity in the statements issued by government officials. Ms. Leavitt’s X post claims the first H-1Bs to be affected would involve H-1B Cap cases filed in April 2026 (“It will first apply in the next upcoming lottery cycle.”), but Director Edlow’s notice specifically states “This guidance applies to H-1B employment-based petitions filed after 12:01 AM ET on September 21, 2025.” Given the inconsistency in reporting and confusion among government officials, and the plain language of the order, we still seek clear instruction from the government on when the EO takes effect. 

We are now comfortable that there is no travel restriction on current H-1B approval holders. However, we await clarification on H-1Bs to be filed given the inconsistent guidance from government representatives.   

We are continuing to monitor for official updates and will do our best to keep clients informed with the most reliable information available. We appreciate the last 48 hours have been difficult for our clients in H-1B status and we understand the conflicting reports and announcements create an air of confusion. We share your concerns and have worked extensively to alert clients to the stated threat and then quickly seek to share guidance once sufficient clarification was available. During this period, we saw the best in our clients as individuals and employers alike scrambled to ensure their people were safe and well taken care of. As we all know, acting directly on an unnamed sourced story can result in negative outcomes – getting official word that the fee would not be imposed at the port of entry was key to our change in guidance. We provide a summary of events below. 

Summary of Recent Events: 

• On Friday, 09/19/2025 at 2:21PM EDT, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X that President Trump planned to add a new $100,000.00 fee to H-1B visas in a new crackdown, linking an article from Bloomberg that references an unreleased fact sheet.  

• On Friday evening, 09/19/2025, President Trump released a proclamation titled ‘Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers’. The language of the proclamation indicated the current H-1B holders would need to show proof of payment of the new fee of $100,000.00 to re-enter the United States if they were abroad, also noting the fee would apply to future cases. 
  • The EO contained other information as well, such as a possible national interest exemption, and instruction to the Secretary of Labor to begin rulemaking regarding new prevailing wages.  
  • The EO provided no instruction on how or to whom the fee would be paid, despite being effective September 21, 2025 at 12:01AM EDT. 

• Given the announcements and plain meaning of the EO, attorneys (including our firm) advised H-1B holders currently abroad to return to the U.S. before the fee’s imposition, or to remain outside until the EO is successfully challenged in court.  

• On Saturday, 09/20/2025 at 4:16PM EDT, Press Secretary Leavitt then posted on X that the fee was not annual, that it did not impact current H-1B holders, confirming current holders could re-enter and travel internationally as usual, and that this fee would only apply to new H-1Bs, including next year’s upcoming lottery.  

• On Saturday, 09/20/2025, shortly after Leavitt’s post on X, USCIS Director Edlow posted a link to a memo on X, which reads, in part:  
  • “This proclamation only applies prospectively to petitions that have not yet been filed. The proclamation does not apply to aliens who: are the beneficiaries of petitions that were filed prior to the effective date of the proclamation, are the beneficiaries of currently approved petitions, or are in possession of validly issued H-1B non-immigrant visas. All officers of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services shall ensure that their decisions are consistent with this guidance. The proclamation does not impact the ability of any current visa holder to travel to or from the United States.” 

• Finally, on Saturday, 09/20/2025, Leavitt tweets a link to a White House Fact Sheet on the EO. It confirms new H-1Bs are required to pay the fee, but importantly, it still fails to clarify which “new” H-1B filings are impacted.  

With the conflicting guidance and lack of preparation by the government, we believe this lack of preparation is telling. We are doubtful USCIS is ready to receive H-1B petitions on Monday and collect $100,000 payments. We will continue to monitor this evolving issue and otherwise return to business as usual.