The Trump administration on Friday moved to tighten oversight of the H-1B visa program, ordering federal agencies to give greater weight to employers’ recent or planned layoffs of U.S. workers while also extending a controversial $100,000 payment requirement for certain H-1B petitions.
The new executive order, signed on September 18, directs the Departments of State, Labor and Homeland Security to coordinate more closely with the Commerce Department, Education Department and Small Business Administration when reviewing H-1B-related applications. The White House says the goal is to combine wage, employment, academic and industry data to identify cases in which the program may be used in ways that displace similarly situated U.S. workers.
Layoffs will receive closer scrutiny
One of the most consequential changes is the instruction that agencies consider whether a sponsoring employer directly or indirectly carried out layoffs during the previous year, or plans future layoffs that could negatively affect comparable U.S. employees.
The order also directs the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division to begin reviewing previously submitted labor condition application data within 30 days to determine whether additional enforcement action may be warranted.
The administration argues that some outsourcing firms and other employers have used the H-1B system to obtain lower-paid foreign labor rather than supplement the domestic workforce. Those assertions are presented by the White House as part of its justification for the policy. Business groups and immigration advocates have long disputed broad claims that H-1B workers systematically replace U.S. employees, arguing that the program is also used to fill specialized roles where employers say qualified labor is difficult to find.
$100,000 requirement extended for another year
Alongside the executive order, President Donald Trump issued a separate proclamation extending for another 12 months a restriction first imposed in 2025. Under that policy, certain H-1B petitions for workers outside the United States must be accompanied by a $100,000 payment, subject to national-interest exceptions determined by the Department of Homeland Security.
The extension runs until September 21, 2027. According to the White House, the policy has sharply reduced registrations from major IT outsourcing firms and shifted selections toward higher-wage and higher-credentialed applicants. Those figures come from the administration’s own fact sheet and have not been independently established by Trevora News.
Reuters reported that the $100,000 fee remains subject to legal challenges. A federal judge has previously found the fee increase unlawful, while related litigation continues in the appeals process. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups have opposed the higher cost, warning that it could make it harder for employers to recruit specialized talent.
What happens next
The order gives federal agencies broad authority to issue additional rules, policies and operational guidance needed to carry it out. That means the practical effect on employers and applicants will depend in part on how the State Department, Labor Department and Homeland Security implement the new review standards.
For companies that rely heavily on H-1B workers, the clearest immediate signal is that recent layoffs, wage levels and the structure of outsourcing arrangements are likely to receive more attention during the review process. For prospective workers, the fee extension and more coordinated agency screening add another layer of uncertainty to an already complex visa system.
Sources & attribution
- White House executive order, September 18, 2026 (primary source)
- White House fact sheet and proclamation, September 18, 2026 (primary sources)
- Reuters, September 18, 2026
