Trump Extends $100,000 H-1B Fee Policy Through 2027, but Court Order Keeps Fee on Hold
The new proclamation extends the policy’s stated term; a federal court’s order vacating the fee remains in effect while the government appeals.
On September 18, 2026, President Trump signed an Executive Order titled “Enhancing Program Integrity and Interagency Coordination in the Administration of the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Program.” The order does not change the H-1B statute or regulations on its own. It does direct the agencies that handle H-1B filings to apply new scrutiny, and it authorizes them to issue rules and guidance to do so. Employers should expect that guidance in the coming weeks and months.
Layoffs become a factor in H-1B decisions:
The most significant provision is Section 3(a). It directs the Departments of State, Labor, and Homeland Security to consider, at every stage, whether the sponsoring employer has engaged in layoffs within the previous year, or plans future layoffs, that negatively affect similarly situated U.S. workers. The order covers layoffs made “directly or indirectly.” This applies to the labor condition application (LCA), the I-129 petition, the visa application, and admission at the port of entry.
The order does not define “indirectly.” Staffing and IT consulting firms should watch closely whether agencies read the term to reach layoffs at end-client worksites where H-1B workers are placed.
DOL review of past LCAs within 30 days:
Section 3(b) requires the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division to begin reviewing previously filed LCAs within 30 days, that is, by mid-October 2026. The purpose is to decide whether enforcement action is warranted under INA § 212(n)(2)(G), the provision that allows the Secretary of Labor to open investigations based on credible information of violations. This review looks backward, so LCAs that are already certified and in use may come under examination.
New agencies join the review:
Under Section 2, State, Labor, and DHS must consult with the Department of Commerce, the Department of Education, and the Small Business Administration, which will supply wage, employment, academic, and industry data. The order’s stated concerns include understated wages, misrepresented job duties used to qualify positions as specialty occupations, and foreign degrees from diploma mills. The inclusion of the Department of Education suggests closer scrutiny of foreign credentials and equivalency evaluations.
Section 3(c) delegates the President’s authority under INA § 215(a), which governs the entry and departure of noncitizens, to State, Commerce, Labor, and DHS so they can implement the order through rules and operational guidance. The White House also issued a separate proclamation on nonimmigrant worker entry the same day, which we will address separately.
What employers should do now:
H-1B employers should review any reductions in force over the past twelve months. For each one, they should document whether the affected positions were similarly situated to their H-1B roles. Now is also a good time to audit LCA public access files and wage-level selections, since those files may be examined in the DOL review. For pending and upcoming petitions, employers should confirm that foreign degree evaluations come from reputable evaluators and are supported by transcripts. Staffing firms should also gather end-client letters and work-order documentation that describe the placement accurately.
Our office will monitor agency guidance implementing the order and will provide updates as they are issued. Employers with questions about pending or upcoming H-1B filings may contact the Law Offices of Keshab Raj Seadie, P.C. at GreenCardMaker.com.
10 PERM Mistakes That Can Lead to an Audit or Denial
By Keshab Raj Seadie, Esq.
A PERM labor certification requires careful work long before Form ETA-9089 is filed. The employer must define a genuine, permanent, full-time position, obtain a prevailing wage determination, test the U.S. labor market through required recruitment, and accurately document the results. The Department of Labor (DOL) may audit an application to examine that evidence. An audit is a request for review, not a denial, and no single issue on this list automatically means DOL will reject a case.
These are ten issues employers should address before filing:
- Incorrect prevailing wage information. The duties, requirements, work location, and offered wage must be reviewed together. A mismatch between the position recruited for and the prevailing wage determination can jeopardize the application.
- Job requirements that are too restrictive. Unusual combinations of education, experience, skills, languages, or travel requirements may require proof that they are genuinely necessary for the business.
- Experience gained with the sponsoring employer. Special rules apply when the employer relies on experience the foreign worker gained in an earlier role with that employer. The positions and requirements must be analyzed before recruitment begins.
- Incomplete or mistimed recruitment. The required advertising steps vary by occupation. Missing a step, using the wrong medium, or filing outside an applicable recruitment window can defeat an otherwise strong case.
- Errors in advertisements or the notice of filing. Inconsistent job duties, requirements, locations, or terms across the advertisements, notice, wage request, and ETA-9089 can raise questions about whether U.S. workers were offered the same opportunity.
- Improper treatment of U.S. applicants. Employers must consider applicants fairly against the job’s stated minimum requirements and document lawful, job-related reasons for rejection. A preference for the foreign worker is not a permissible reason to reject a qualified U.S. applicant.
- An inadequate recruitment report or missing records. The employer must be able to explain its recruitment results and produce supporting evidence if DOL audits the case. An incomplete audit response can itself lead to denial.
- Recent layoffs or questions about whether the job is genuinely open. Layoffs in a related occupation, an ownership interest held by the foreign worker, or the worker’s influence over hiring can require closer review and supporting evidence.
- An ETA-9089 that conflicts with the evidence. Errors in the worker’s qualifications, employment history, job requirements, or recruitment dates may be difficult to correct after filing. DOL decisions show that material omissions can result in denial.
- Improper payment arrangements. PERM recruitment and related employer legal costs must be handled under DOL’s employer-payment rules. Requiring the foreign worker to cover prohibited costs can put the case at risk.
State Department Targets Birth Tourism Networks and Opens Visa Fraud Tip Portal
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced a visa restriction policy targeting people who knowingly engage in or facilitate “birth tourism” to the United States. The policy identifies commercial network operators, visa facilitators who coach applicants to provide false information, and others who knowingly support such travel. Certain family members may also be covered.
In a separate move, the State Department has opened an online portal to report suspected visa fraud or misuse. Reports may be submitted anonymously, although providing contact information allows officials to seek further details. The department says submitted information may be used to support investigations.
The department defines birth tourism as travel primarily to give birth in the United States to obtain citizenship for the child; it says that purpose is not permissible on a visitor visa. The policy does not mean that pregnancy alone makes a person ineligible for a visa. Applicants should accurately disclose their travel plans, and anyone submitting a tip should distinguish firsthand facts from suspicion.
Do Your Parents or Relatives Return to the United States Once a Year Just to Preserve Their Green Cards?
New Public-Charge Rule May Create Serious Reentry Risks After Extended Travel:A new federal public-charge rule took effect on September 18, 2026, and it may catch some lawful permanent residents—particularly elderly green-card holders—off guard when they return from extended stays abroad.
The rule applies to applications for admission made on or after September 18, 2026. It replaces the narrower 2022 framework with a broader, highly discretionary review based on the totality of the person’s circumstances. Immigration officers may now consider a wider range of means-tested public benefits received on or after the rule’s effective date, although receiving benefits alone does not automatically establish public-charge inadmissibility.
Public charge generally does not apply when a green-card holder returns from a brief trip abroad. However, there is an important exception: a lawful permanent resident who remains outside the United States for a continuous period exceeding 180 days is treated as an applicant for admission upon returning. This allows immigration authorities to examine all applicable grounds of inadmissibility, including public charge.
Therefore, a parent or relative who lives primarily abroad and returns to the United States only once a year to “preserve” a green card may face two separate concerns:
- A public-charge review if the absence exceeded 180 consecutive days; and
- A possible finding that the person abandoned permanent residence because the United States is no longer the person’s true permanent home.
Simply entering the United States once each year does not automatically preserve lawful permanent resident status.
We strongly advise green-card holders planning extended travel—particularly for elder care, medical treatment, family obligations, or retirement—to obtain legal advice before leaving the United States. Proper advance planning may help protect their permanent resident status and avoid serious problems at the port of entry.
2026 Affidavit of Support Income Guidelines: What Family Sponsors Need to Know
Family-based green card sponsors should check the 2026 income guidelines when preparing Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. Most sponsors must show household income of at least 125% of the federal poverty guideline for their household size. For a household of two in the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C., that amount is $27,050; for a household of four, it is $41,250. Alaska and Hawaii have higher guidelines. Certain active-duty military sponsors petitioning for a spouse or child may use the 100% level.
A sponsor whose income falls short may still have options, including qualifying assets, eligible household-member income, or a joint sponsor. Families should calculate household size carefully and provide evidence of current income with the affidavit.
For families with a pending case: The September 24 report describes the guidelines as applying to every pending affidavit. That statement is too broad to use as a filing rule without checking the case’s filing and review dates. Sponsors should consult the USCIS Form I-864P table and the instructions applicable to their case before submitting financial evidence.
Court Wins, Slow Relief: Immigrant Visa and Diversity Visa Pauses Lifted, but Consulates Lag Behind
Federal courts have struck down two State Department policies that halted immigrant visas for thousands of families, including many from Nepal. But on the ground, the relief is arriving slowly, and for Diversity Visa (DV) winners the clock runs out in eight days.
What changed. In December 2025, the State Department stopped issuing Diversity Visas after a campus shooting and the killing of an MIT professor, both linked to a suspect who had entered through the DV program. In January 2026, it paused immigrant visas for nationals of 75 countries it considered at high risk of becoming a public charge. On A ugust 21, a federal court in New York vacated the 75-country pause in CLINIC v. Rubio. A California court then invalidated the DV pause in Medani v. Trump. The Department acknowledged both rulings in late August. On September 10, it sent a cable (26 STATE 88862) directing all embassies and consulates to resume immigrant and diversity visa processing and issuance immediately.
What hasn’t changed yet. According to AILA, the Department said it had suspended all immigrant visa processing while it reviews screening and vetting policies and trains consular officers on new public charge guidance. Immigrant visa and K-1 fiancé(e) interviews were cancelled worldwide, with no end date and no rescheduling notices. Some posts, including those in Hungary, Poland, and London, appear to be resuming processing. Even so, AILA members had not yet reported any visa issuances or rescheduled interviews as of September 21. A court victory, in other words, does not yet mean a visa in hand.
DV-2026 deadline: September 30. No DV-2026 visa can be issued after that date, and unused eligibility does not carry over to the next year.
What affected applicants should do now:
- Contact the consulate through its official inquiry channel. Ask that the case move forward under the court order and current guidance, and keep copies of everything you send and receive.
- Seek congressional help if the case is urgent or the post has not acted.
- Keep every document. This includes refusal notices, consulate correspondence, and anything showing the hold was based on a policy that has since been struck down.
- DV-2026 selectees: complete every outstanding step, attend every scheduled interview, and stay in close contact with the post.
- Confirm before relying on anything. Guidance is changing quickly, so check your case status directly with the consulate.
The Law Offices of Keshab Raj Seadie, P.C. is assisting families whose immigrant visa or Diversity Visa cases were held, refused, or cancelled under these policies. Given the September 30 deadline, DV-2026 selectees should contact our office immediately.
Sincerely,
Keshab Raj Seadie, Esq. Law Offices of Keshab Raj Seadie, P.C.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Always consult an attorney for personalized advice.
