US $100,000 H-1B payment: what the September court order changed
by 
Babylon Radio
Listen nowThe September 2026 extension of the $100,000 H-1B entry-payment framework does not establish that employers must pay it through September 2027. On 30 September 2026, a federal court vacated the agencies’ implementing policies and barred their enforcement pending required rulemaking. The extension and the enforceability of the payment are separate issues.
Correction, 28 October 2026: Our earlier headline, introduction and excerpt presented the payment as continuing until September 2027 without adequately distinguishing the proclamation’s stated duration from court restrictions on enforcement. This article records the court documents identified below, not a confirmation of every subsequent docket development. Before acting, obtain the latest court orders and official filing guidance.
What the September court order says
In Global Nurse Force v. Trump, order 130, pages 33–34, the Northern District of California vacated and remanded the agency policies implementing Proclamations 10973 and 11069. It enjoined their implementation pending Administrative Procedure Act notice-and-comment rulemaking and Regulatory Flexibility Act analyses, and denied the government’s request for a stay pending appeal. This was not a final resolution of all claims.
The government filed its notice of appeal on 9 October, document 132. Its separate motion that day, document 133, requests a pause in district-court proceedings. It says the preliminary relief would remain during the appeal. A request to pause proceedings is not an order restoring payment collection.
The Ninth Circuit clerk’s 9 October notice, document 138, assigned appeal number 26-6667 and set initial briefing dates. It is a scheduling notice, not an order staying the September ruling.
Verification scope, 28 October 2026: The latest primary filing reviewed for this correction is dated 20 October. We have not independently confirmed the outcome of the case-management conference scheduled for 27 October or subsequent district-court and appellate developments. This is a dated account of verified documents, not confirmation of today’s payment obligation. Absence of a later order here does not establish that no such order exists.
The September extension: historical background
The background below describes the September proclamation and the implementation framework discussed in our original report. It is not a statement that those payment provisions are currently enforceable.
The White House proclamation says entry as an H-1B specialty-occupation worker is restricted unless the relevant petition is accompanied or supplemented by a $100,000 payment, subject to national-interest exceptions. It also directs the Department of Homeland Security to restrict decisions on affected petitions for workers who are currently outside the United States.
What changed on 18 September 2026?
The September proclamation extended the 2025 H-1B entry restriction for another year. It specified an effective time of 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on 21 September 2026 and a duration of 12 months, through 21 September 2027 unless it is extended again or altered by a court or later government action.
The proclamation states that employers must obtain and retain documentation showing that the required payment has been made before filing a covered H-1B petition for a worker outside the United States. Its text directed the State Department to verify receipt during the visa process and directed State and Homeland Security to deny entry where the payment had not been made. Those instructions must be distinguished from the court restrictions described above.
Which cases did the payment framework cover?
The wording matters. Section 1 of the 2026 proclamation focuses on H-1B specialty-occupation workers who are outside the United States and need admission to the country to take up the approved employment. The restriction covers entry connected with consular notification, a port of entry, pre-flight inspection or pre-clearance.
The State Department’s implementation guidance for the original 2025 proclamation says the restriction applied to people seeking visa issuance or US entry based on H-1B petitions filed after the original effective date. It also states that no visas were revoked under that proclamation.
Reuters reported on 18 September that the original restriction did not apply to renewals of current H-1B visas or to foreign nationals already in the United States on student visas who moved into H-1B status. The 2026 action extends the existing proclamation rather than announcing a completely new visa category or across-the-board fee.
What exceptions did the proclamation provide?
The proclamation authorised the Homeland Security Secretary to exempt an individual, all workers employed by a particular company, or workers in an industry if the Secretary determined that their employment is in the national interest and does not threaten US security or welfare.
Because these determinations are discretionary, employers and prospective workers should check the latest DHS, USCIS and State Department guidance before relying on an exception.
The administration’s stated rationale for the September extension
The administration says the payment and other H-1B reforms have reduced applications from large IT staffing and outsourcing companies and shifted selections towards higher-paid and more highly qualified workers. The White House says more than 700 petitions have so far been accompanied by the $100,000 payment.
A separate executive order signed on 18 September directs federal agencies to coordinate more closely when reviewing H-1B labour condition applications, petitions, visas and entries. It tells agencies to consider whether a sponsoring employer directly or indirectly carried out layoffs in the previous year, or plans future layoffs, that negatively affect similarly situated US workers. The order also requires the Department of Labor to begin reviewing data from previously submitted labour condition applications within 30 days to assess whether enforcement action against sponsoring employers may be warranted. This does not mean that a recent layoff automatically disqualifies every H-1B sponsor: the order makes layoff history a factor for agencies to consider, and further operational guidance may still follow.
Those statements set out the administration’s policy rationale. They should not be read as independent findings about every employer or H-1B worker.
Other cases and a separate proposed fee
The September order records differing rulings in the Massachusetts and District of Columbia challenges and further appellate review. The parties’ 20 October joint statement, document 142, identifies appeals in the First, Ninth and D.C. Circuits. It lists the government’s proceedings-stay request as pending. It is a party filing, not a ruling on current enforcement.
DHS separately issued a $103,265 fee proposal for cap-subject H-1B petitions, including the advanced-degree exemption. That notice is a proposal, not an effective final rule, and should not be confused with the $100,000 proclamation-based payment.
What should internationally mobile professionals do now?
If you are already in H-1B status, changing status from another US visa, renewing, applying from abroad or planning international travel, do not assume that the same rule applies in every case. Your position can depend on where you are, when the petition was filed, the type of processing requested and whether an exception applies.
Employers and prospective workers should confirm the latest applicable court orders and official filing and travel guidance with qualified immigration counsel before making irreversible relocation plans. Neither the proclamation’s stated duration nor this historical account establishes whether a payment is due in an individual case today.
Sources for the historical background
The original report cited the White House proclamation dated 18 September 2026. The US Department of State guidance on the original restriction was cited for the 2025 implementation framework. The White House also issued a separate H-1B programme-integrity executive order on 18 September 2026.
Historical court documents reviewed on 28 October 2026; latest primary filing reviewed: 20 October 2026. Subsequent court status remains unverified. This article is not individual immigration or legal advice.