Greetings,
On Friday, September 19, 2025, President Trump signed the Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers. The Proclamation sets out to restrict the entry of H-1B specialty occupation workers unless employers pay a $100,000 fee per petition. This proclamation took effect at 12:01 AM ET on September 21, 2025.
Since then, there have been clarifying statements issued by USCIS and CBP indicating that the proclamation will not impact:
- H-1B workers who are the beneficiaries of currently approved petitions
- any petitions filed prior to 12:01 AM ET on September 21, 2025
- any H-1B worker in possession of a valid H-1B visa stamp
- any payments or fees required to be submitted in connection with any H-1B renewal
Because there are aspects of the proclamation that are not fully understood yet, and its application may change depending on agency guidance and litigation outcomes, the International Services Office (ISO) will not be filing any new H-1B petitions with immigration services. This includes consulate notifications, changes of status and portability petitions. We will, however, continue to accept H-1B requests from departments and prepare petitions and hold them until we can file. As departments recruit international employees, we want to ensure that we are making progress with Labor Condition Applications (LCA), the I-I29 Petition for Non-Immigrant Workers, and all other supporting documentation. Note that applications that have previously been submitted to the ISO are still being prepared.
For employees in the H-1B status, we will continue filing their H-1B extensions or their H-1B amended petitions with immigration services.
It is our hope that in the coming weeks, additional information about the proclamation will emerge, specifically an understanding of the scope of the exemptions. Once the proclamation is fully understood, the ISO in consultation with the Office of Counsel and Government Relations will determine if the completed petition classifications mentioned above can be submitted to immigration services for filing. We encourage you to reach out to iso@rochester.edu with any questions or concerns.
We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as information becomes available.
Thank you for your support of our international scholars and employees in these challenging times.
Kindest regards,
Wendy Fritz