On Sept. 18, 2026, the President signed Proclamation 11069, "Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers," published in the Federal Register on Sept. 23, 2026. It continues the limitations set out in Proclamation 10973, first issued Sept. 19, 2025, which restrict entry into the United States, under INA §§ 212(f) and 215(a), of H-1B nonimmigrants under INA § 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) whose petition is not "accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $100,000." The restriction applies only to aliens who enter or attempt to enter the United States after the effective date, 12:01 a.m. EDT on Sept. 21, 2026.
The proclamation states the restriction expires, absent further extension, 12 months after that effective date — Sept. 21, 2027. The Secretary of Homeland Security retains discretion to determine that a national-interest exception applies, and the proclamation requires the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Homeland Security to jointly recommend to the President, no later than 30 days after the completion of the H-1B lottery that immediately follows this proclamation, whether a further extension is warranted.
Employment-based petitions are not our core practice area, but this affects employers and workers we do serve on the family and adjustment-of-status side when a household includes an H-1B holder. The proclamation's restriction is written as an entry restriction, not one that by its terms reaches an extension or change of status filed from inside the United States — but it contains no express exclusion for those filings and assigns DHS compliance duties regarding petitions where the payment was not made. If you are unsure whether this restriction reaches your specific petition, confirm directly with the employer's immigration counsel handling the H-1B filing before relying on anything summarized here; the proclamation's text and any implementing guidance control, not this summary.