Headline: H-1B entry restriction extended through September 21, 2027; $100,000 payment remains affected by pending litigation

Presidential Proclamation 11069, signed September 18 and published in the Federal Register on September 23, extended for another 12 months the H-1B entry restrictions first imposed in September 2025. The renewed proclamation became effective at 12:01 a.m. EDT on September 21, 2026 and, by its terms, continues through September 21, 2027 absent another extension. It continues the framework under which entry in H-1B status for certain workers is restricted unless the relevant petition is accompanied or supplemented by a $100,000 payment, subject to discretionary national-interest exceptions. Presidential Proclamation 11069, Federal Register

A significant legal qualification remains. On July 24, 2026, the First Circuit denied the government’s request to stay a District of Massachusetts judgment that had vacated the DHS and DOS agency actions implementing the $100,000 payment requirement. The September extension proclamation does not itself reverse that judicial ruling. First Circuit opinion

Practical Implications:

Employers should distinguish carefully among the proclamation itself, the agency actions that implement it, and the current litigation posture. The proclamation preserves the executive-policy framework for another year, but practitioners should not assume from the proclamation alone that USCIS or DOS may presently collect the $100,000 payment.

For any H-1B case involving a beneficiary abroad, counsel should verify the current USCIS filing instructions and DOS implementation position at the time of filing and visa processing. Employers should preserve documentation establishing whether the case falls within the proclamation’s scope and whether a national-interest exception may be relevant.

Headline: Executive Order 14431 creates a broader interagency H-1B compliance framework and makes employer layoffs an express adjudication factor

Executive Order 14431, signed September 18 and published in the Federal Register on September 23, establishes a significantly more coordinated H-1B compliance and enforcement framework across the Departments of State, Labor, and Homeland Security, with input from Commerce, Education, and the Small Business Administration.

The order directs DOS, DOL, and DHS, when processing H-1B petitions, labor condition applications, visas, and entry, to coordinate with the other agencies and use relevant wage, employment, academic, industrial, and economic information in assessing statutory compliance. Most notably, the order instructs those agencies to consider whether the sponsoring employer directly or indirectly engaged in layoffs during the preceding year or plans future layoffs that negatively affect similarly situated U.S. workers. Executive Order 14431, Federal Register

The order also requires DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, within 30 days, to begin reviewing data relating to previously submitted LCAs to determine whether further action against sponsoring employers is warranted under INA § 212(n)(2)(G).

Practical Implications:

Employers should treat recent or planned reductions in force as directly relevant to H-1B compliance. Employers that have recently implemented or are considering layoffs should coordinate immigration, HR, employment-law, and workforce-planning teams before filing new LCAs or H-1B petitions. The order also increases the potential importance of cross-agency consistency. Employers should assume greater visibility across wage data, job classifications, layoffs, academic credentials, organizational structures, and staffing models.

Headline: State Department updates visa-bond guidance and country list

The Department of State updated its guidance identifying nationals subject to B-1/B-2 visa bonds under INA section 221(g)(3). Covered applicants who are otherwise eligible for a B-1/B-2 visa may be required to post a $10,000, $15,000, or $20,000 bond, with the amount determined at interview. DOS states that the requirement applies regardless of place of application. Bonded travelers must use commercial air ports of entry, including CBP preclearance locations; land, sea, charter-air, and general-aviation entry are excluded. DOS also lists circumstances that may constitute breach, including overstaying, certain untimely extension/change-of-status filings, and filing Form I-589 for asylum or other humanitarian protection. Department of State visa-bond guidance

Practical Implications:

Counsel representing B-1/B-2 applicants from listed countries should review bond exposure before interview and explain that payment should occur only after consular instruction. Travel planning must account for the commercial-air entry/exit requirement. Where a bonded visitor later considers extension, change of status, or asylum, counsel should assess both immigration eligibility and the separate consequences for the bond.