The White House recently posted messages on the X social media platform that appear to limit the applicability of yesterday’s proclamation that restricted the admission of H-1B nonimmigrants whose employers had not paid a $100,000 fee to the U.S. government.  The announcement, which appears to be a hasty reaction to the overwhelmingly negative reaction to the proclamation by the United States business community, makes three claims: (1) the proclamation does not apply to anyone who has a current visa; (2) the proclamation only applies to future applicants in the February [sic] lottery who are currently outside the U.S.  and does not apply to anyone who participated in the H-1B cap lottery, which was held this year; (3) The proclamation does not impact the ability of a current H-1B visa holder to travel to or from the U.S. These claims are not consistent with the language of the proclamation, as discussed below, and may indicate that the U.S. government intends to implement the proclamation in a manner different from what was suggested by the announcements on Friday, September 19.

If the latest three claims are accurate, only persons selected in the fiscal year 2027 lottery (which will be held in March of next year), who cannot take up H-1B employment until October 2026, will be subject to the entry restriction.  Current H-1B holders who are outside the United States may thus return to the country without fearing a denial of admission even after the purported effective date of 12:01AM EST on 09/21/2025.

Although this interpretation is certainly welcome and appears to allow the admission of current H-1B holders, as well as allow the approval of H-1B petitions for those outside the U.S., even though their employers have not paid the $100,000 fee, it is not supported by the plain text of the proclamation. It may legitimately be questioned why, if the administration intended to narrow the applicability of the proclamation in this manner, the proclamation did not state this explicitly.  Considerable caution should be exercised by H-1B holders who are currently outside the United States or plan to travel soon and plan to rely on this social media post as a defense to an attempt by United States Customs and Border Protection to deny them admission.  Such persons should wait for a more formal communication confirming the administration’s position on this issue before departing the United States or returning to the United States.  It is also possible that, having received criticisms from anti-immigration constituencies, the administration may, as it has done in the past, revise its interpretation of the proclamation to strengthen its coercive effect.  We therefore do not recommend that travel to the United States be attempted until definitive guidance is provided or it is clear that USCBP is not denying admission on the basis of the terms of the proclamation.