The $100,000 H-1B payment was extended to 2027, while a court ruling against it still stands

On 18 September 2026 the President extended the 2025 H-1B proclamation "for an additional 12 months, until 12:00 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, 2027". It keeps the $100,000 payment and, as before, ties it to a petition "on behalf of an alien outside the United States". The extension took effect on 21 September 2026.

What has not changed

The court ruling against the payment has not been lifted. On 8 June 2026 the District of Massachusetts vacated the guidance implementing the 2025 payment in California et al. v. Mullin, and on 24 July 2026 the First Circuit denied the Government's request to pause that ruling while it appeals. The appeal is still being briefed. No court has yet ruled on the new proclamation itself. The proclamation still reaches only petitions for people outside the US, not extensions, transfers or changes of status filed inside it.

What to do

If an employer is about to file a new H-1B petition for someone outside the US, that is the employer's question, and its immigration lawyer is the one to ask how the payment is being handled this month. Nothing needs doing by anyone already in the US.

Next update

When the First Circuit decides the appeal (the states' brief is due 4 November 2026), when a court rules on the September 2026 proclamation, or when USCIS updates its page.

Sources

OfficialRestriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers (extension), 18 September 2026The White House — Presidential Proclamation
OfficialState of California v. Mullin, No. 26-1699 — order of 24 July 2026 denying a stayU.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit docket (PACER record via CourtListener)
OfficialPresidential Proclamation on Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant WorkersU.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services — last updated June 2026