I am on an H-1B already. Do I owe $100,000?

No. The proclamation does not apply to previously issued H-1B visas or to petitions filed before 21 September 2025, and it does not change what is required for a renewal.

Can I still travel in and out of the United States on my H-1B?

Yes. USCIS states the proclamation does not prevent any holder of a current H-1B visa from travelling in and out of the United States.

Is the payment being collected right now?

A court vacated the guidance implementing it on 8 June 2026 and the First Circuit refused to stay that order on 24 July 2026, with DHS saying it will comply while it considers next steps. Because this is moving through the courts, check the USCIS H-1B FAQ for the position on the day you need it.

Someone has asked me to pay this to get into the lottery. Is that real?

No. It is a payment an employer makes when submitting a new petition, not something an individual pays to enter a lottery. Treat any such request as a scam.

OfficialUSCIS — H-1B FAQ · Last verified 17 Aug 2026

The $100,000 H-1B payment: what it applies to, and where it stands now

A 2025 presidential proclamation attached a $100,000 payment to new H-1B petitions. A court vacated the guidance implementing it in June 2026 and the government is complying while it considers what to do next. It never applied to extensions, renewals or people already holding an H-1B.

Does this affect you?

This rule works differently for two groups. Pick the one that describes you and we will highlight it — both stay on screen either way.

You already hold an H-1B, or your petition was filed before 21 September 2025

How to check: Your H-1B visa was issued, or your employer filed the petition, before 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on 21 September 2025.

Does the payment apply: No. USCIS states the proclamation does not apply to previously issued H-1B visas or to petitions filed before that time
Extensions and amendments: Unaffected. The proclamation does not change what is required for a renewal
Travel: Unaffected. USCIS states it does not prevent a current H-1B holder travelling in and out
What to watch: Nothing here. This group was never in scope

A new H-1B petition filed for you after 21 September 2025

How to check: Your employer is filing, or filed, a new H-1B petition after that date — including through the lottery.

Does the payment apply: This was the group the proclamation covered — but a court vacated the guidance implementing it, so it is not being collected as at the date below. It would be paid by the petitioning employer at filing, never by the worker
Extensions and amendments: Not covered either way. The proclamation was a one-time payment on a new petition
Travel: Unaffected for anyone already holding a valid H-1B visa
What to watch: The litigation. DHS says it will collect again if the order is lifted — check the USCIS H-1B FAQ on the day it matters

This is general information, not advice about your case. If your situation does not match either group cleanly, that is exactly what your designated school official is there to answer.

What the proclamation did

On 19 September 2025 the President signed a proclamation, "Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers", requiring a payment of $100,000 to accompany any new H-1B petition submitted after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on 21 September 2025. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Customs and Border Protection and the State Department each issued implementing guidance. It is a one-time payment on the submission of a new petition, and it is an employer's payment, not a worker's.

Source: USCIS — H-1B FAQ · in effect from 2025-09-19

What it never applied to

USCIS is explicit about the limits, and they matter more than the headline. The proclamation does not apply to H-1B visas already issued, or to any petition submitted before 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on 21 September 2025. It does not change any payment or fee required for an H-1B renewal. And it does not stop anybody holding a current H-1B visa from travelling in and out of the United States. If you are on an H-1B now and your employer is extending or amending it, this was never your $100,000.

Source: USCIS — H-1B FAQ · in effect from 2025-09-19

Where it stands today

On 8 June 2026 the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated the agency guidance implementing the payment requirement, in State of California v. Mullin. The order was administratively stayed while the government asked the First Circuit for a stay pending appeal, and on 24 July 2026 the First Circuit refused. The Department of Homeland Security says it disagrees and will comply with the order while it considers next steps, and that if the order is later lifted it still plans to collect the payment. That is the position USCIS states on its own H-1B FAQ, and it is where the matter sits rather than where it ends.

Source: USCIS — H-1B FAQ · in effect from 2025-09-19

What else the proclamation set in motion

Two rulemakings were announced alongside it and are separate from the payment: one by the Department of Labor to revise and raise prevailing wage levels, and one by the Department of Homeland Security to prioritise higher-paid workers over those at lower wage levels in the H-1B lottery. Neither is the payment, neither rises or falls with the litigation over it, and a change to how the lottery ranks people would reach far more workers than a payment most employers would simply decline to make.

Source: USCIS — H-1B FAQ · in effect from 2025-09-19

What has not changed

Nothing about holding, extending or using an H-1B has changed for anyone already in one. USCIS states the proclamation does not apply to H-1B visas already issued, does not change any payment required for a renewal, and does not stop a current H-1B holder travelling in and out of the United States. The annual cap is unchanged at 65,000 with a further 20,000 for holders of a U.S. master's degree or higher, and cap-exempt employers are still cap-exempt. Portability is unchanged: you may still begin work for a new employer as soon as USCIS receives a non-frivolous petition.

Source: USCIS — H-1B FAQ · in effect from 2025-09-19

If you already acted on this

Some employers withdrew offers or paused sponsorship when the proclamation was signed, and some workers paid consultancies who claimed they could handle the payment. If an offer was withdrawn, the position now is that the guidance implementing the payment has been vacated and it is not being collected — that is worth raising with the employer, because the reason for the withdrawal may no longer exist. If you paid anybody for this, you paid for something that was never charged to individuals in the first place; report it through the USCIS avoid-scams page.

Source: USCIS — H-1B FAQ · in effect from 2025-09-19

What to be careful about

Nobody should be asking you personally for this money. It is a payment made by a petitioning employer at the point of filing a new petition, and a request for it directed at a worker — by a consultancy, a recruiter, or anybody offering to secure a place in the lottery — is a scam. Be equally careful with the reverse error: an employer or an agent telling you the requirement is dead and gone is overstating a court order that DHS has said it will comply with only while it considers next steps. The status of this changes by court order, so check the USCIS H-1B FAQ on the day it matters rather than relying on what was true when you last read about it.

Source: USCIS — H-1B FAQ · in effect from 2025-09-19

Official

Frequently asked questions

I am on an H-1B already. Do I owe $100,000?: No. The proclamation does not apply to previously issued H-1B visas or to petitions filed before 21 September 2025, and it does not change what is required for a renewal.
Can I still travel in and out of the United States on my H-1B?: Yes. USCIS states the proclamation does not prevent any holder of a current H-1B visa from travelling in and out of the United States.
Is the payment being collected right now?: A court vacated the guidance implementing it on 8 June 2026 and the First Circuit refused to stay that order on 24 July 2026, with DHS saying it will comply while it considers next steps. Because this is moving through the courts, check the USCIS H-1B FAQ for the position on the day you need it.
Someone has asked me to pay this to get into the lottery. Is that real?: No. It is a payment an employer makes when submitting a new petition, not something an individual pays to enter a lottery. Treat any such request as a scam.