United States | President Trump issues orders targeting H-1B oversight and entry restrictions

On Sept. 18, 2026, President Trump issued an executive order, “Enhancing Program Integrity and Interagency Coordination in the Administration of the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Program,” and a presidential proclamation, “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers.” The federal immigration agencies have not issued further guidance at the time of publication.

Key takeaways:

Interagency coordination of H-1B program. The executive order directs the Departments of State, Labor and Homeland Security to “coordinate and consult” with other federal agencies when reviewing H-1B petitions, labor condition applications and visas “to ensure the compliance of such petitions, applications and visas with statutory requirements.”

Consideration of layoffs in H-1B adjudications. Agencies are instructed to “take into account in any labor condition application, petition, visa and entry of aliens entering or attempting to enter the United States as H-1B nonimmigrants to perform services in a specialty occupation whether the employer sponsor directly or indirectly engaged in layoffs within the previous year or plans future layoffs that negatively affect the employment of similarly situated United States workers.” The order establishes a 30-day timeline for the Department of Labor to assess previously submitted labor condition application data and determine whether enforcement actions may be warranted.

H-1B entry restrictions. The presidential proclamation purports to extend the $100,000 payment requirement to restrict the entry of certain H-1B workers for one year, until Sept. 21, 2027. These restrictions were first imposed in September 2025, but the administration remains blocked in court from enforcing the $100,000 payment requirement. After the First Circuit denied the government’s request to stay that ruling pending appeal, the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement that “DHS strongly disagrees with the First Circuit’s order … but will comply with the court’s order while DHS considers next steps.”

Additional information: The immigration agencies have not yet issued guidance regarding how they will implement these directives in H-1B adjudications. As noted above, the administration is seeking to extend H-1B entry restrictions that are currently blocked in court pending the government’s appeal. BAL continues to monitor the ongoing litigation and will provide updates on agency guidance and actions in response to these orders.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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