A US court upheld the Trump administration’s $100,000 application fees for American companies to hire foreign nationals, which was implemented on September 21, 2025.
US District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the administration’s decision on $100,000 fee imposition on foreign hires was “lawful.”
On Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, President Trump signed a Proclamation, “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers” as a part of reforming the H-1B visa program to “curb abuses and protect American workers”.
“Here, Congress has granted the president broad statutory authority, which he has used to issue the proclamation addressing, in the manner he sees fit, a problem he perceives to be a matter of economic and national security,” Judge Howell said, rejecting The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s appeal.
All about Trump’s Proclamation on H1 Visa Reforms
Requires a $100,000 payment to accompany any new H-1B visa petitions submitted after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on Sept. 21, 2025. This includes the 2026 lottery, and any other H-1B petitions submitted after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on Sept. 21, 2025.
- Authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State to coordinate to take all necessary and appropriate action to implement this Proclamation.
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has so far taken such action by issuing guidance regarding the Proclamation, available here (PDF, 177.48 KB).
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection has also issued guidance, available here.
- The Department of State has posted guidance to all consular offices, consistent with the guidance from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. Customs and Border Protection guidance.
This Proclamation does not:
- Apply to any previously issued H-1B visas, or any petitions submitted prior to 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on Sept. 21, 2025.
- Does not change any payments or fees required to be submitted in connection with any H-1B renewals. The fee is a one-time fee on submission of a new H-1B petition.
- Does not prevent any holder of a current H-1B visa from traveling in and out of the United States.
Further steps that will be taken to reform the H-1B program, as contemplated in the Proclamation, include:
- A rulemaking by the Department of Labor to revise and raise the prevailing wage levels in order to upskill the H-1B program and ensure that it is used to hire only the best of the best temporary foreign workers.
- A rulemaking by the Department of Homeland Security to prioritize high-skilled, high-paid aliens in the H-1B lottery over those at lower wage levels.
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