On September 19, 2025, President Trump signed a proclamation imposing restrictions on H-1B nonimmigrants seeking entry into the United States including paying a $100,000 fee unless there is a national interest exception. Professional publications and media articles followed the proclamation within minutes alerting H-1B holders and the US employers relying on these workers, to refrain from traveling outside of the US, and for the H-1Bs outside of the US to return to the US along with their H-4 dependents prior to September 21, 2025 at midnight when the proclamation will take effect.
On September 20, 2025, the USCIS published on its website a Policy Memorandum (“PM”) stating that the new proclamation will only apply to H-1B petitions filed after the effective date of today.
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/memos/H1B_Proc_Memo_FINAL.pdf
There will be more developments -including legal challenges- and updates to these restrictive measures. Regardless of the PM exempting from the Proclamation H-1B beneficiaries of a petition filed prior to September 21, 2025, we recommend for these employees to refrain from traveling internationally due to prospective delays and higher scrutiny upon entry.
Our team of lawyers is available to answer any questions.
Catherine Henin-Clark is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law.
