🚨 $100,000 H-1B “ENTRY TOLL” PROCLAMATION: CLARIFIED

On Sept 19, 2025, President Trump issued a shocking Proclamation: starting Sept 21, any foreign national seeking to enter the U.S. on an H-1B visa would face a $100,000 “entry toll.”
The announcement landed like a bombshell. Immigration lawyers, employers, and workers panicked. With more than 1 million professionals in the U.S. under H-1Bs — many doctors, nurses, engineers, and software developers — the fear was immediate: Would families be trapped abroad? Would hospitals lose staff? Would tech talent be locked out?

✅ THE CLARIFICATION

On Sept 20, USCIS issued an official memo:

The $100,000 fee applies only to brand-new H-1B petitions filed on or after Sept 21, 2025

It does not apply to:

• Foreign nationals already in H-1B status
• Pending petitions at USCIS
• Approved petitions (Form I-797) awaiting consular stamping
• Anyone holding a valid H-1B visa traveling internationally

In short: existing H-1Bs, pending cases, and consular stampings on approved petitions are not affected.

💰 THE BIGGER CONTEXT

The H-1B program adds ~80,000 new professionals per year. Today, over 1 million skilled workers (plus families) live in the U.S. Many, especially Indian nationals, wait 15–20 years in the green card backlog.
These workers aren’t freeloaders. They contribute an estimated $47B annually in federal, state, and payroll taxes and are essential to tech, healthcare, and research — from nurses and PTs to physicians and top software engineers.

⚖️ LEGAL & POLICY CONCERNS

A $100,000 surcharge is 80× higher than current fees.

Enforcement is vague and undefined.

Even limited to new petitions, it could deter talent, hurt competitiveness, and create chaos for employers.

As critics note: even the Communist Party in China has never imposed such extortionate demands on lawful foreign workers.

👉 MY TAKE

The panic was justified. But thanks to USCIS clarification, those in H-1B status, with pending cases, or traveling for consular stamping can breathe easier.

Special thanks to Joseph B. Edlow, USCIS Director, for acting quickly. Lawyers were already advising clients not to travel, or to return before midnight 09/20. Now, they can all BREATHE AGAIN!!! 🙂

This still looks more like leverage than policy — pressuring Big Tech, signaling “Hire American,” and testing presidential authority.

My advice: Stay calm. Courts may step in, exemptions may emerge, and more guidance will follow. But ultimately, President Trump is likely using this as leverage to push Big Tech to train and employ more U.S. workers — a fair goal, though he has a habit of freaking people out first.

Remember tariffs? The market panicked, crashed… and then recovered within weeks. Months later, it was soaring.

So let’s keep the faith. 🙏   PS. What do you think? Was this a botched announcement, or a deliberate strategy to use fear as leverage?