Category: H-1B Visas

USCIS and U.S. Customs and Border Protection posted Memos on 9/20/2025 seeking to clarify the recently issued Proclamation. While the Memos appear to provide some clarity, confusion and inconsistency regarding the Proclamation and its implementation abound.

USCIS Memo dated 9/20/2025 states the following:

• This proclamation only applies prospectively to petitions that have not yet been filed.
• It does not apply to beneficiaries of petition filed prior to the effective date of the proclamation (9/21/2025).
• It does not apply to beneficiaries of currently approved petitions.
• It does not apply to beneficiaries in possession of validity issued H-1B visas.

The USCIS memo also states that the proclamation “does not impact the ability of any current visa holder to travel to or from the United States.” Even so, until we have more clarity on this proclamation, my advice remains for nonimmigrants not to travel outside of the U.S.

 

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Memo dated 9/20/2025 essentially states the same information as the USCIS memo.

A White House Fact Sheet on the Proclamation states the following:

• The Proclamation restricts entry for aliens as nonimmigrants to perform services in specialty occupations in the H-1B program unless their petition is accompanied by a $100,000 payment.
• It directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to restrict approvals for petitions from aliens that are currently outside the United States that are not accompanied by the payment, and allows case-by-case exemptions if in the national interest.

 

Other points and considerations at this time:

• USCIS shall not adjudicate petitions unless they are accompanied by proof of payment of the $100,000 fee for H-1B workers who are currently outside of the U.S.
• Extensions of stay inside the U.S., including change of employer, change of status and amended petitions —where the beneficiary remains in lawful H-1B status—are not expressly covered by the Proclamation, so unless instructed otherwise, it appears they are exempt BUT THIS HAS NOT BEEN CONFIRMED.

 

Exceptions: There may be exceptions for an individual, a company, or an industry, if DHS determines that it is in the national interest of the U.S. and does not pose a threat to the security or welfare of the U.S. The language of the Proclamation does not address whether this new fee and travel restriction apply to cap-exempt H-1B workers outside of the U.S.

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We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they become available.

President Trump issued a proclamation restricting the entry of anyone seeking to enter or reenter the U.S. in H-1B status without payment of a new $100,000 fee. The proclamation, titled Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers, is effective at 12:01 a.m. EDT Sunday, September 21, 2025.

Any H-1B nonimmigrants who are currently abroad should return to the U.S. as soon as possible before the effective date. Travel outside of the U.S. for visa processing/renewals will be impacted so H-1B nonimmigrants should refrain from all international travel until implementation is further clarified.

There may be exceptions for an individual, a company, or an industry, if DHS determines that it is in the national interest of the U.S. and does not pose a threat to the security or welfare of the U.S.

Universities are cap exempt. The language of the Proclamation does not address whether this new fee and travel restriction apply to cap-exempt H-1B nonimmigrants outside of the U.S. Until we receive clarification, it is advised that all H-1B nonimmigrants postpone international travel. 

We will provide updates as more information becomes available.

Requirements include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Renewing a prior H-1B visa issued by Mission Canada with an issuance date from 1/1/2020 – 4/1/2023 OR are renewing an H-1B visa issued by Mission India with an issuance date from 2/1/2021 – 9/30/2021
2. Not subject to a nonimmigrant visa reciprocity fee (which can be found here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country.html)
3. Eligible for a waiver of the in-person interview requirement
4. Have submitted fingerprints with a prior visa application (If you ever had a nonimmigrant visa interview (and you were 14-79 years old at the time) and your visa was issued in or after January, 2008, you should have been ten printed.)
5. Prior visa does not include a “clearance received” annotation
6. Were most recently admitted to the U.S. in H-1B status

The State Department will begin accepting online applications on January 29, 2024 via https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/employment/domestic-renewal.html. They will limit application slots each week to 2000 for those renewing a visa issued by Mission Canada, and 2000 for those renewing a visa issued by Mission India. Once the 2000 weekly limit is reached for each Mission, the online portal will be locked until the next portion of slots are released the next week.

If you have questions about your eligibility and/or wish to submit an application, please contact my office for a consultation.

USCIS announced on 12/13/2023 that it received a sufficient number of petitions needed to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master’s cap, for fiscal year (FY) 2024.

USCIS will send non-selection notices to registrants through their online accounts over the next few days. Upon completion of the non-selection notifications, the status for properly submitted registrations that were not selected for the FY 2024 H-1B numerical allocations will show: Not Selected: Not selected – not eligible to file an H-1B cap petition based on this registration.

We are now beginning to work on H-1B cap cases for FY2025. If you have a cap case or questions about a potential H-1B cap case, please contact my office.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year 2024 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 1 and run through noon Eastern on March 17, 2023. During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives will be able to complete and submit their registrations using our online H-1B registration system.

USCIS will assign a confirmation number to each registration submitted for the FY 2024 H-1B cap. This number is used solely to track registrations; you cannot use this number to track your case status in Case Status Online.

Prospective H-1B cap-subject petitioners or their representatives are required to use a myUSCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee for each registration submitted on behalf of each beneficiary. Prospective petitioners submitting their own registrations (U.S. employers and U.S. agents, collectively known as “registrants”) will use a “registrant” account. Registrants will be able to create new accounts beginning at noon Eastern on Feb. 21.

Representatives may add clients to their accounts at any time, but both representatives and registrants must wait until March 1 to enter beneficiary information and submit the registration with the $10 fee. Prospective petitioners or their representatives will be able to submit registrations for multiple beneficiaries in a single online session. Through the account, they will be able to prepare, edit, and store draft registrations prior to final payment and submission of each registration.

If USCIS receives enough registrations by March 17, they will randomly select registrations and send selection notifications via users’ myUSCIS online accounts. If they do not receive enough registrations, all registrations that were properly submitted in the initial registration period will be selected. USCIS intends to notify account holders by March 31.