What's changing for employers of visa workers
Federal changes that affect employers that sponsor, hire or keep workers on employment-based visas or other temporary work authorization.
8 records
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Comments due
Department of Homeland Security proposes ending deference to prior approvals when reviewing Form I-129 worker extension petitions
- What changed
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to remove the regulation that tells U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers to defer to a prior approval when reviewing a Form I-129 petition to extend a foreign worker's employment or stay. Officers could still consider a prior approval, but would no longer start from deference to it.
- Who's affected
- Employers that file Form I-129 extension petitions for nonimmigrant workers (for example H-1B, L-1, O-1, E and TN workers), and those workers. DHS expects more requests for evidence and longer processing for some extensions.
- What to do
- This proposed rule creates no new duties for employers now. Employers that want to weigh in can comment through regulations.gov by November 13, 2026, and may want to plan for fuller, earlier extension filings in case the proposal becomes final.
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Comments due
Department of Homeland Security proposes ending the up to 60-day grace period for visa workers whose job ends
- What changed
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to end the up to 60-day grace period that lets workers in the E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN (Canadian and Mexican professional) classifications, and their dependents, keep their status after a job ends. It is a proposal, not a final rule.
- Who's affected
- Employers that sponsor or hire workers in these classifications, mostly H-1B employers, and especially employers that hire workers between jobs. Employers of dependent spouses who are authorized to work could also be affected.
- What to do
- This proposed rule creates no new duties for employers, and nothing changes unless DHS issues a final rule. Employers that rely on the grace period may want to comment by November 10, 2026, and plan for a possible final rule.
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Comments due
Department of Homeland Security proposes $70,000 and $30,000 school fees for Optional Practical Training of F-1 students
- What changed
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes that schools certified by its Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) pay $70,000 before recommending an F-1 student for Optional Practical Training (OPT) for the first time, and $30,000 for each later OPT recommendation. This is a proposal only.
- Who's affected
- The fees would fall on SEVP-certified schools, not employers, but DHS says schools may pass the cost to students or employers. Employers that hire F-1 students on OPT, including science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) OPT extensions, could see fewer candidates or higher costs.
- What to do
- This proposed rule creates no duties for employers now. If you rely on OPT or STEM OPT workers, consider reviewing that reliance and commenting by November 9, 2026.
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Effective
Department of Homeland Security makes permanent the end of automatic extensions for certain Employment Authorization Documents
- What changed
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) adopted as final, without changes, its October 30, 2025 interim rule ending automatic extensions of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs). A renewal application filed on or after October 30, 2025 no longer keeps an expiring EAD valid. The final rule took effect October 14, 2026.
- Who's affected
- Any employer with workers who rely on an EAD to work in a category that used to get the automatic extension. DHS estimates that 1,700 to 2,800 employers will be affected and that 20,000 to 33,000 EADs will lapse in an 18-month window starting in May 2027.
- What to do
- This rule creates no new duties for employers. It makes permanent a change in effect since October 30, 2025. Employers must still reverify work authorization when an EAD expires, and a renewal receipt for an application filed on or after October 30, 2025 does not extend the card.
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Published
President directs federal agencies to weigh employer layoffs in H-1B visa decisions and review past filings
- What changed
- Executive Order 14431, signed September 18, 2026, directs the Secretaries of State, Labor and Homeland Security to consider an H-1B employer sponsor's recent or planned layoffs that negatively affect similarly situated United States workers. It also directs the Department of Labor to begin reviewing data on past labor condition applications within 30 days of the order.
- Who's affected
- No employer is bound directly. The agency actions it directs concern employers that sponsor or plan to sponsor H-1B workers, and the order singles out third-party placement groups, outsourcing firms and technology sector employers.
- What to do
- This order creates no employer obligation yet. Watch for rules or guidance from the agencies it names, and consider how layoffs in the past year or planned layoffs could weigh on upcoming H-1B filings.
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Published
The President extends the $100,000 payment condition on entry of H-1B workers for another 12 months
- What changed
- A presidential proclamation continues the limits set by Proclamation 10973 of September 2025: H-1B specialty occupation workers may enter the United States only if their petitions are accompanied or supplemented by a $100,000 payment, subject to narrow exceptions. The extension took effect at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, 2026, and the proclamation says it runs until September 21, 2027.
- Who's affected
- Employers of any size that file H-1B petitions for workers who are outside the United States and must seek admission to start work. The proclamation singles out information technology staffing and outsourcing firms.
- What to do
- The proclamation continues an existing payment condition rather than clearly creating a new duty. For affected petitions, employers must make the $100,000 payment and, before filing for a worker outside the United States, obtain and keep documentation that it was paid.
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Effective
Department of Homeland Security extends the 9-11 Biometric Fee to all H-1B and L-1 extension petitions filed by covered employers
- What changed
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final rule, effective September 9, 2026, that requires covered employers to pay the 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee ($4,000 for H-1B, $4,500 for L-1) on every extension of status petition, including extensions for a worker staying with the same employer. Before this rule, covered employers paid the fee only on new employment and change of employer petitions.
- Who's affected
- Only employers with 50 or more employees in the United States where more than 50 percent of those employees, counted in the aggregate, hold H-1B, L-1A or L-1B status. Employers that do not meet this test do not pay the fee.
- What to do
- If you are a covered employer, the changed duty is to include the fee with H-1B and L-1 extension petitions, including same-employer extensions, once the rule takes effect on September 9, 2026 (DHS says it will not apply to past or pending petitions). Amended petitions that do not seek an extension stay exempt, and the fee applies to petitions filed on or before September 30, 2027.
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Effective
Department of Homeland Security lets U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services require online filing of immigration forms
- What changed
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued an interim final rule, effective August 11, 2026, that lets U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) require online filing of any form that has been available online for 180 days, after posting 60 days' notice on its website. It also creates Form I-936, a $25 request to waive online filing for undue hardship.
- Who's affected
- Any employer that files immigration petitions with USCIS, such as petitions for foreign workers, and the attorneys who file for it. DHS expects that business filers will generally not qualify for a waiver.
- What to do
- This rule creates no new duties for employers yet: no form must be filed online until USCIS posts a 60-day notice for it, which it says will not happen before the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approves the waiver form. Consider watching the USCIS website and preparing to file petitions online; comments are due October 13, 2026.