Washington: The White House has issued a sweeping proclamation overhauling the H-1B visa program, citing “systemic abuse” by outsourcing firms and a “direct threat” to American workers and national security.
Signed by the President on September 19, 2025, the order introduces a $100,000 payment requirement for employers filing new H-1B petitions for workers outside the United States.
Beginning September 21, 2025, at 12:01 a.m. EDT, U.S. authorities will not process any new H-1B petitions for workers outside the country unless the employer pays the $100,000 fee. This restriction will remain in force for 12 months, until September 20, 2026, unless the White House decides to extend it.
Accusing of Abuse
The proclamation states that the H-1B program, created to bring highly skilled foreign workers, has been exploited to replace American employees with lower-paid labor. It highlights:
- A doubling of foreign STEM workers in the U.S. between 2000 and 2019, from 1.2 million to 2.5 million, while overall STEM jobs grew only 44.5%.
- In computer and math fields, the foreign workforce share rose from 17.7% in 2000 to 26.1% in 2019.
- IT outsourcing firms now account for more than 65% of H-1B positions, compared with 32% in FY2003.
- One company approved for 5,000 H-1Bs in FY2025 laid off 15,000 U.S. employees; another secured 1,700 visas while cutting 2,400 jobs in Oregon.
The White House argues that this has suppressed wages, displaced college graduates in computer science, and forced American workers to train foreign replacements under nondisclosure agreements.
National Security and Labor Concerns
According to the proclamation, H-1B-reliant firms have faced investigations for visa fraud, money laundering, and racketeering, raising national security concerns. It warns that continued reliance on low-wage foreign workers discourages Americans from pursuing STEM careers and threatens U.S. leadership in technology.
A 2017 study is cited, showing that American computer scientists’ wages could have been 2.6–5.1% higher and employment 6.1–10.8% greater in 2001 absent large-scale importation of foreign workers.
Core Provisions
- Restriction on Entry: Only H-1B petitions accompanied by the $100,000 payment will be processed for foreign workers abroad.
- Duration: The restriction will remain in place for 12 months, unless extended by recommendation of the Secretaries of State, Labor, and Homeland Security.
- Exemptions: The Secretary of Homeland Security may waive the restriction if hiring foreign workers is deemed “in the national interest” and poses no security threat.
- Compliance: Employers must provide documentation of payment before filing petitions. The State Department and Homeland Security will jointly enforce compliance and deny entry to any H-1B applicant whose employer has not paid the surcharge.
- Future Rule-making: The Department of Labor is directed to revise prevailing wage levels, while Homeland Security must prioritize admission of higher-paid, higher-skilled workers.
The restrictions apply only to “aliens entering the U.S.” after the effective date. Existing H-1B holders already in the United States are not directly covered by this proclamation.
Framing the program as a tool of wage suppression and security risk, the White House has taken the most aggressive step yet against the H-1B visa system. For the next year, only employers willing to pay a $100,000 surcharge per petition will be allowed to bring in foreign specialty workers from abroad, with further reforms to wage standards and visa prioritization on the horizon.
