- The September eighteenth actions extended the one hundred thousand dollar fee for certain H-one-B filings through September twenty-first, twenty twenty-seven.
- D-H-S proposed ending the sixty-day grace period for several employment visa categories, but current rules remain in effect.
- Agencies must scrutinize employers’ H-one-B filings when they have recently laid off or plan to lay off similarly situated U.S. workers.
President Donald J. Trump’s September 18, 2026 H-1B actions renewed a $100,000 charge for certain filings and directed agencies to scrutinize employers’ layoffs of U.S. workers. A separate Department of Homeland Security proposal would eliminate the 60-day H-1B grace period after a job ends.
The measures take different routes. The fee and employer-review provisions came through an executive order and proclamation; DHS published its proposed rule on September 10, 2026.
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The grace-period change is not in force. Current rules continue to provide the window while the proposal moves through rulemaking.
If finalized, the proposal would sharply shorten workers’ time to respond to a layoff. The fee action, by contrast, extends a charge applying to certain H-1B filings.
DHS would end the post-layoff window only if its proposal takes effect
DHS proposed eliminating the discretionary 60-day period for H-1B workers and holders of several other employment-based visas. The affected categories include H-1B1, E-3, L-1, O-1 and TN, along with related dependents.
The proposal appeared on September 10, 2026, and was scheduled for Federal Register publication on September 11, 2026. It would generally require workers to leave the United States when their qualifying employment ends, unless they have another lawful basis to remain.
The change is still under review. The proposed rule faces a two-month public comment period before DHS can finalize it, and current law continues to provide the grace period in the meantime.
DHS described the aim this way:
“This proposal restores a direct relationship between an alien’s nonimmigrant status and the specific employment or activity that formed the basis of his or her admission or grant of status in the United States.”
The current window can give a laid-off worker time to seek another employer, change status or depart the country. Removing it would leave less time to arrange a new basis to stay, unless another lawful option already applies.
The September 18 order brings layoffs into H-1B reviews
Trump’s September 18 action directs the Secretaries of State, Labor and Homeland Security to scrutinize H-1B filings from employers that recently laid off, or plan to lay off, similarly situated U.S. workers. The White House also directed those officials to consult the Secretaries of Commerce and Education and the Small Business Administration administrator.
Agencies are to weigh layoff information across labor condition applications, H-1B petitions, visa decisions and screening at entry. The order therefore reaches multiple points in the process, from employer filings to decisions involving visa issuance and admission.
The administration framed the action as an effort to reinforce program integrity and interagency coordination. It is separate from DHS’s proposed rule on what happens to a worker’s status after employment ends.
The fee extension runs through September 21, 2027
A companion proclamation renewed the $100,000 fee requirement for certain H-1B filings through September 21, 2027, according to the White House fact sheet.
The policy had a prior expiration date of September 21, 2026. The September 18 proclamation extended it for another year, through September 21, 2027.
The stated scope is limited to certain H-1B filings. The extension does not itself change the grace-period rules; those remain subject to DHS’s separate rulemaking.
Portability still depends on maintaining lawful status
H-1B portability lets many workers begin a job with a new employer once that employer files a fresh petition. But portability depends on the worker maintaining a lawful status framework.
That link is central to the proposed change. Under current rules, the grace period can preserve time to pursue a new sponsor after a job loss; if DHS finalizes the proposal, that period would no longer be available for the listed visa categories.
The comment period and rulemaking will determine whether the proposed change becomes final. Until then, the current grace-period provision remains in effect, while the fee extension and employer-layoff review stem from the September 18 actions.
