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President Trump has extended the $100,000 H-1B fee requirement for another year. Even so, a federal court order currently blocks US Citizenship and Immigration Services from collecting it. The H-1B fee extension, signed as a proclamation on 18 September. Pushes the fee’s expiration date to 21 September 2027 for covered petitions involving workers outside the United States.
What the H-1B fee extension actually changes
The proclamation, titled “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers,” extends a fee first imposed in September 2025. USCIS collected it for nearly a year before a district court blocked enforcement in the summer of 2026. That court order remains in effect. So employers are not currently being charged the fee even though the underlying policy has been renewed. The extension matters because it signals the administration’s intent once litigation resolves. It is not an immediate new cost for employers filing H-1B petitions today.
The proclamation arrived alongside a separate executive order. “Enhancing Program Integrity and Interagency Coordination in the Administration of the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Program,” issued the same week. That order directs the Departments of Labor, Homeland Security and State to scrutinize an employer’s layoffs. That includes contemplated ones, throughout the H-1B process.
Why the layoff-scrutiny order matters more right now
Immigration attorneys tracking the filings say the layoff-review directive could have a more immediate effect than the fee extension. That is precisely because the fee itself is tied up in court. Employers planning workforce reductions while also sponsoring H-1B workers now face closer federal review of that overlap. The order does not set a specific numeric threshold for what counts as disqualifying layoff activity, leaving significant discretion to the agencies implementing it.
Immigration lawyers advising employers say the practical effect is a chilling one. This holds regardless of how the fee litigation eventually resolves. Companies now have to document and justify workforce decisions with an eye toward federal review that did not exist before this month. Even for routine restructuring unrelated to H-1B hiring. That documentation burden falls hardest on mid-size employers who lack in-house immigration counsel and previously treated H-1B sponsorship as a straightforward filing process.
How this fits the broader H-1B tightening this year
The fee extension is the latest in a string of changes to the program this year. Following a new weighted selection process for the FY2027 H-1B lottery and a $250 visa integrity fee applied across most visa categories. Employers who adjusted hiring plans around the original fee’s September 2025 introduction are now watching the court case closely. That is because a reversal on appeal could revive collection well before the new 2027 expiration date arrives.
Universities and hospital systems. This rely on H-1B sponsorship for specialized researchers and physicians. Have been especially vocal about the cumulative effect of these changes. Individually, the weighted lottery, the integrity fee and the fee extension each address a narrow policy goal. Taken together, employer groups argue the combined cost and compliance burden is reshaping which organizations can realistically sponsor foreign talent at all. Favoring large corporations with dedicated immigration teams over smaller research institutions and regional hospital networks.
Some employers are responding by shifting recruitment toward other visa categories or expanding remote-work arrangements for candidates who can perform the role from outside the United States entirely. Sidestepping the H-1B process altogether where the job allows it. That workaround is not available for roles requiring an on-site presence, such as most clinical and laboratory positions. This is part of why hospital systems in particular have struggled to adapt to the accumulating cost of this year’s changes.
Foreign nationals already working in H-1B status face a quieter but no less real form of uncertainty: renewal timing. Attorneys say some employers have begun filing extensions earlier than usual. Worried that further policy shifts could complicate the process closer to an employee’s actual expiration date. That defensive filing pattern adds its own processing burden to an already strained USCIS system. Even before accounting for the litigation still working through the courts.
What happens next for H-1B employers
The fee remains unenforceable while the district court’s block stands. And the administration has not indicated whether it will appeal that specific ruling on an expedited basis. Employers filing new H-1B petitions for workers outside the US should watch both tracks separately: the fee litigation. And the newly active layoff-scrutiny process. This is not currently subject to any injunction and applies regardless of how the fee case resolves.
Frequently asked questions
Is the $100,000 H-1B fee being collected right now?
No. A federal district court order from summer 2026 currently blocks USCIS from collecting it, even though the underlying proclamation has been extended.
How long was the fee extended?
The proclamation extends the fee requirement through 21 September 2027 for covered H-1B cases involving workers outside the United States.
What does the new executive order do?
It directs the Departments of Labor, Homeland Security and State to scrutinize an H-1B employer’s layoffs and contemplated layoffs throughout the visa process.
Does the layoff-scrutiny order apply even with the fee blocked?
Yes. It is not covered by the court order blocking fee collection and applies to H-1B petitions now.
What other H-1B changes happened this year?
A weighted selection process for the FY2027 lottery and a $250 visa integrity fee applied across most visa categories both took effect earlier in 2026.
Related coverage
- Seasonal Employers Just Ran Out of H-2B Workers for Winter
- Your Green Card Priority Date Could Freeze in the Next 10 Days
Sources
- The White House — Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Further Enhances Program Integrity and Interagency Coordination in the H-1B Visa Program. whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/09
- Fragomen — President Trump Extends $100,000 H-1B Fee, But Policy Currently Vacated by Court Order. fragomen.com/insights
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