United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) posted on X a redacted image showing an internal memorandum related to the 9/19/2025 Presidential Proclamation entitled Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers. That Proclamation restricted admission to the United States of certain H-1B nonimmigrants whose employers had not paid a $100,000 fee, effective at 12:01am EDT on Sunday, September 21.

The CBP memo, like the USCIS memo, states that the proclamation “only applies prospectively to petitions that have not yet been filed. The proclamation does not apply to aliens who: are the beneficiaries of petitions that were filed prior to the effective date of the proclamation, are the beneficiaries of currently approved petitions, or are in possession of validly issued H-1B non-immigrant visas… The proclamation does not impact the ability of any current visa holder to travel to or from the United States.”

Per this guidance, any H-1B nonimmigrant who currently holds H-1B status (or is the beneficiary of a pending or approved H-1B petition) will not be subject the restriction described in the proclamation and may travel freely to the United States.

Since CBP is the only agency with authority over the admission of foreign nationals, this memorandum is definitive guidance on the admissibility of H-1B holders who appeared to be included in the scope of the proclamation.  All H-1B nonimmigrants whose petitions were filed before the Proclamation’s effective date should therefore be free to enter the United States without regard to the proclamation’s entry restrictions.

More guidance will be necessary to understand how the $100,000 fee will be implemented and collected.