Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, IMMIGRATION NEWS—Trump administration places unprecedented price tag on H-1B visas, (Sep 22, 2025)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

At the same time the Department of Labor has announced an enforcement initiative to investigate employers utilizing H-1B visas, with the Labor Secretary to personally certify the initiation of investigations.

On Friday, President Trump issued a proclamation relating to the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program, which he contends “has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor” and that the statute and its regulations have been abused in order to “artificially suppress wages, resulting in a disadvantageous labor market for American citizens, while at the same time making it more difficult to attract and retain the highest skilled subset of temporary workers, with the largest impact seen in critical science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.”

IT focus. This is a problem, the proclamation states, particularly with information technology firms, where American workers contend they are being forced to train foreign workers who are then taking their jobs. “The high numbers of relatively low-wage workers in the H-1B program undercut the integrity of the program and are detrimental to American workers’ wages and labor opportunities, especially at the entry level, in industries where such low-paid H-1B workers are concentrated,” the proclamation states.

“The abuse of the H-1B program is also a national security threat,” the proclamation adds, and, combined with the economic harm, “demands an immediate response.”

The proclamation sets a $100,000 price tag, therefore, on the entry of aliens as nonimmigrants through the H-1B provisions of the INA, for a 12-month period after the proclamation’s effective date.

FAQs. On Sunday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released an H-1B FAQ document related to the president’s proclamation. It explains that the proclamation does the following:

• Requires a $100,000 payment to accompany any new H-1B visa petitions, effective after 12:01 a.m. EDT on September 21, 2025. This includes the 2026 lottery, and any other H-1B petitions submitted after that time.

• Authorizes Homeland Security and the State Department to coordinate implementation. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have issued guidance as part of this effort already.

It also explains that the proclamation does not apply to any previously issued H-1B visas, or any petitions submitted prior to 12:01 a.m. EDT on Sept. 21, 2025. It also does not change any payments or fees required to be submitted in connection with any H-1B renewals. Also, it notes that the fee is a one-time fee on submission of a new H-1B petition.

Finally, it promises further steps to be taken with regard to the H-1B program, including rulemakings by the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security.

Labor Secretary-certified investigations. Meanwhile, on Friday the Department of Labor announced the launch of “Project Firewall,” an H-1B enforcement initiative. Under the initiative, the department plans to investigate employers in order to maximize compliance with the H-1B program. “To achieve this goal,” the press release reveals, “the Secretary of Labor will personally certify the initiation of investigations for the first time in the department’s history.” These “Secretary-certified investigations,” along with other H-1B related investigations, could result in employers owing back wages to affected workers, as well as civil money penalties and/or debarment from future use of the H-1B program.

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