H-1B Travel Ban, Day One
- achehrazi
- Sep 20
- 5 min read
Late on Friday, September 19, 2025, the White House issued a Presidential Executive Order imposing a new H-1B visa fee of $100,000 per visa petition, immediately due and payable for any H-1B visa holder attempting to enter the United States after 12:00 midnight (Eastern Time), Sunday, September 21, 2025. Text of the Executive Order and a link to it are included below.
This Executive Order was issued with almost no advance notice, Bloomberg being tipped off by anonymous White House insiders only hours before the Executive Order’s publication. For this and other reasons, we predict (though we cannot guarantee) that this Executive Order will be challenged by federal lawsuit perhaps as soon as Monday, September 22. Any such lawsuit will seek injunctive relief to block enforcement. If so, we have reason to hope those stuck outside the United States will have a means to return to the United States sooner or later, without having to pay any $100,000 fee.
While the Executive Order is sloppily drafted and full of inconsistencies, it appears to apply exclusively to H-1B visa holders outside the United States seeking admission as of the September 21 effective date. It does not necessarily appear on its face to apply to H-1B visa holders within the United States maintaining H-1B visa status. (Again, the language is unclear, and seems to contradict verbal statements of the Secretary of Commerce, recorded and broadcast on Friday, September 19.) Crucially, the Executive Order appears to apply to new H-1B visa petitions, pending H-1B visa petitions, and approved H-1B visa petitions for individuals outside the United States as of September 21, 2025.
No other US visa category is impacted by this Executive Order, with the possible exception of H-4 visa holders. However, the Executive Order never once specifically mentions H-4 visa holders, and thus we remain unsure without further agency guidance. That said, we suggest that H-4 visa holders refrain from international travel and if currently outside the US, return immediately (preferably before the deadline) if possible.
Due to conflicts between the written Executive Order and the verbal comments of the Commerce Secretary, it is unclear whether this $100,000 fee is an annual fee to be paid per employee, or to be attached to every newly-filed H-1B visa petition, as each H-1B visa petition is filed.
We assume the language of the Executive Order controls over any conflict with Secretary Lutnick’s comments. Therefore, we believe each new H-1B visa petition must be accompanied by a $100,000 payment, as they are filed. There is no apparent “annual fee”. For approved H-1B visa petitions, it appears that the Executive Order requires that the H-1B nonimmigrant must show evidence of the $100,000 payment to the Secretary of State before a returning H-1B visa holders will be allowed admission to the United States from abroad.
Please keep careful track of the effective time and date. The Executive Order takes effect 12:01 AM ET, Sunday, September 21, 2025. (For those residing on the US West Coast that means any return must occur by 9:01 PM Pacific Time, Saturday, September 20, 2025.)
This ban on H-1B visa admission is set by the Executive Order to expire 12 months after its effective date on September 21, 2025, unless extended.
Other key provisions of the Executive Order, as plainly as we can summarize, follow below:
“National Interest” Exception from the $100,000 Fee: The Secretary of Homeland Security is granted the discretion to waive the $100,000 fee for specific individuals, companies, or industries if their employment is determined to be in the national interest.
Future Rulemaking to Increase Wages: The Executive Order directs the Secretary of Labor to initiate a formal rulemaking process to revise upwards the prevailing wage levels for H-1B workers.
Prioritization of High-Skilled Workers: The Department of Homeland Security is instructed to develop new regulations to prioritize H-1B visas for the highest-skilled and highest-paid foreign workers, signaling a potential shift away from the current lottery-based system.
At this time, we would strongly recommend the following:
If an H-1B nonimmigrant is currently in the United States, "remain in the United States for the foreseeable future" to "avoid being denied reentry".
For dependents on an H-4 visa status, out of an abundance of caution, they should also stay in the United States (even though the Executive Order doesn't mention them).
If an H-1B nonimmigrant is abroad, it is strongly recommended that if at all possible they return to the United States tomorrow (9/20) before the deadline of midnight Eastern Time. For individuals returning to the West Coast, this means 9:01 PM PDT.
Regarding, extensions/status changes: these are likely to be unaffected if you are currently in the United States.
This is an emerging situation and as we learn more, we will share more information and updated advice when available.
Section 1. Restriction on Entry. (a) Pursuant to sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a), the entry into the United States of aliens as nonimmigrants to perform services in a specialty occupation under section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), is restricted, except for those aliens whose petitions are accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $100,000 — subject to the exceptions set forth in subsection (c) of this section. This restriction shall expire, absent extension, 12 months after the effective date of this Executive Order, which shall be 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, 2025.
(b) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall restrict decisions on petitions not accompanied by a $100,000 payment for H-1B specialty occupation workers under section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the INA, who are currently outside the United States, for 12 months following the effective date of this Executive Order as set forth in subsection (a) of this section. The Secretary of State shall also issue guidance, as necessary and to the extent permitted by law, to prevent misuse of B visas by alien beneficiaries of approved H-1B petitions that have an employment start date beginning prior to October 1, 2026.
(c) The restriction imposed pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall not apply to any individual alien, all aliens working for a company, or all aliens working in an industry, if the Secretary of Homeland Security determines, in the Secretary’s discretion, that the hiring of such aliens to be employed as H-1B specialty occupation workers is in the national interest and does not pose a threat to the security or welfare of the United States.