- Trump extended the H-1B $100,000 rule for another year through September twenty-one, twenty twenty-seven.
- The payment applies to covered H-1B workers abroad unless a national-interest exception is approved.
- The extension keeps the 2025 framework in place and starts September twenty-one, twenty twenty-six.
President Donald J. Trump extended the H-1B $100,000 entry restriction on September 18, 2026, keeping the measure in force for another year. The extension runs until 12:00 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, 2027.
The rule mainly reaches certain H-1B specialty-occupation workers who are outside the United States and need to enter to begin H-1B employment. Their petitions must be accompanied or supplemented by a $100,000 payment, unless an exception applies.
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The White House proclamation continues the framework first imposed in 2025. It does not describe a replacement system. Instead, it carries the existing restriction forward for 12 months.
The proclamation said the administration considered the extension to be in the interests of the United States.
“It is therefore in the interests of the United States to extend the 2025 Proclamation for an additional 12 months, until 12:00 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, 2027”
The document also states that entry for covered H-1B workers “is restricted, except for those aliens whose petitions are accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $100,000.”
The extension starts September 21, 2026
The new period begins at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, 2026. It ends at 12:00 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, 2027.
That timing creates a 12-month continuation of the entry restriction. Employers planning to bring affected workers from abroad must account for the payment when preparing those cases.
The requirement is tied to the worker’s position outside the country. It concerns entry into the United States, rather than describing every H-1B petition as subject to the same payment.
| Case feature | Rule continued by the proclamation |
|---|---|
| Worker category | H-1B nonimmigrant worker in a specialty occupation |
| Worker location | Currently outside the United States |
| Entry condition | Petition accompanied or supplemented by a $100,000 payment, unless an exception applies |
| Extension period | 12 months |
| End of current period | 12:00 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, 2027 |
The payment obligation falls first on the employer seeking to sponsor the covered worker. The worker, meanwhile, faces an entry restriction if the petition lacks the required payment or an approved exception.
A narrow exception remains with homeland security officials
The proclamation preserves a national-interest exception. The Secretary of Homeland Security may determine that an individual, a company’s entire group of workers, or all workers in an industry should be exempt.
The exception requires two findings. The hiring must serve the national interest, and it must not threaten U.S. security or welfare.
That authority can apply at different levels. A decision may cover one person, every affected worker for a company, or workers across an industry.
The exception is discretionary. Employers cannot treat it as an automatic alternative to the payment requirement.
The rule therefore creates two routes for covered entries: make the payment required by the proclamation, or obtain an exemption under the national-interest standard.
The measure continues the 2025 framework
The administration’s action extends the 2025 proclamation rather than establishing a different structure. The White House says the conditions that led to the original restriction continue to support keeping it in place.
The policy’s practical focus remains new H-1B workers abroad who need to enter the country. Employers seeking that entry must evaluate the payment requirement alongside the underlying H-1B petition.
The extension also fixes a new end point for the policy. Until September 21, 2027, the covered entry restriction remains tied to the $100,000 payment and the discretionary exception process.
The controlling announcement is the White House proclamation, “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers”. The administration also issued a fact sheet on the H-1B program on September 18, 2026.
The next operative date is 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, 2026, when the one-year extension takes effect.
