Immigration

United States | USCIS releases procedure for enforcing the $100K H-1B fee mandate under the Presidential Proclamation on Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers

Summary

On September 19, 2025, President Trump issued the Presidential Proclamation on Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers (“the Proclamation”) introducing a major reform to the H-1B visa program, requiring a $100,000 fee payment for certain new H-1B petitions filed on or after September 21, 2025 (12:01 a.m. EDT). On October 20, 2025, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published guidance on procedures to enforce the $100K H-1B fee mandated by the Proclamation, and clarified the types of filings that are impacted.

The detail

On September 19, 2025, the President issued the Proclamation establishing a significant reform to the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program. Under this Proclamation, certain H-1B petitions filed on or after September 21, 2025, 12:01 a.m. EDT (“the effective date”), must be accompanied by an additional $100,000 payment as a condition of eligibility. On October 20, 2025, USCIS clarified that the payment requirement applies to:

• New H-1B petitions filed on or after the effective date for beneficiaries who are outside the US and do not have a valid H-1B visa
• New H-1B petitions filed on or after the effective date, where the petition requests consular notification, port-of-entry notification, or pre-flight inspection for a beneficiary inside the US
• H-1B petitions filed on or after the effective date that request a change of status, amendment, or extension of stay, and where USCIS determines that the beneficiary is ineligible (such reasons may be, the beneficiary is not in a valid nonimmigrant visa status or if the beneficiary departs the US prior to adjudication of a change of status request)

Exemptions from the fee requirement

USCIS has clarified that the fee requirement does not apply to:

• Beneficiaries with valid and previously issued H-1B visas
• H-1B petitions submitted prior to the effective date
• H-1B petitions filed at or after the effective date, that requests an amendment, change of status, or extension of stay for beneficiaries inside the US that are indeed eligible for such adjudications.
• Beneficiaries with approved H-1B petitions, under an amendment, change of status, or extension of stay, that depart the US and apply for a visa based on the approved petition and/or seek to reenter the United States on a current H-1B visa.

Further to the above, the Proclamation has no impact on the holder of a current H-1B visa or beneficiary of an approved petition filed before the effective date, from travelling in and out of the U.S.

Exceptions to the fee requirement

USCIS has further noted that exceptions to the fee requirement may be granted only under extraordinarily rare circumstances by the Secretary of Homeland Security, upon determination that (1) the H-1B worker’s presence serves the national interest, (2) no American worker is available, (3) the H-1B worker poses no threat to national security or welfare, and (4) the payment would significantly undermine US interests. Employers seeking such an exception will be required to submit a detailed request and supporting documentation to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) email address (H1BExceptions@hq.dhs.gov). If the request for an exception is granted, then the DHS approval should be included with the H-1B petition when it is submitted to USCIS for adjudication. DHS has not indicated how long it will take for them to grant or deny an exception request to the $100K fee.

Payment instructions:

For all the petitioners not subject to an exemption nor exception to the fee requirement, USCIS has instructed that payments must be made prior to filing a petition with USCIS, via pay.gov, and at the following weblink: https://www.pay.gov/public/form/start/1772005176. USCIS stipulates that proof of payment or evidence of an exception must accompany the filing.

Vialto will continue to monitor this situation and will provide additional guidance as more information becomes available.

Contact us

For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:

Manish Daftari
Partner

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