H-1B $100,000 Entry Fee Litigation Tracker (Proclamation 11069)

Current status (September 24, 2026): The $100,000-per-petition H-1B payment is not being collected right now. The measures implementing the original proclamation were vacated by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on June 8, 2026 (judgment). The government's appeal is still pending at the First Circuit, and the states' answering brief is not due until November 4. Proclamation 11069, signed September 18, extends the restriction to September 21, 2027, but as of today USCIS has issued no implementation guidance for the new proclamation, and no one has filed a separate lawsuit against it (based on a search of court dockets).

What is this about?

• In September 2025, Proclamation 10973 required that new H-1B petitions for workers outside the U.S. be accompanied by $100,000. USCIS and the State Department then issued 10 implementing documents (memos, FAQs, a fee schedule, a payment website, and so on).
• Twenty states sued. The case is State of California v. Noem (renamed State of California v. Mullin on appeal), case number 1:25-cv-13829-LTS, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, before Judge Leo T. Sorokin.
• On June 8, 2026, the court ruled for the states and vacated those 10 implementing documents. Its reasons included that the payment is in substance a tax, and the taxing power belongs to Congress; the President was not authorized to impose it. Note: what was vacated was the implementing documents, not the proclamation itself.
• On September 18, 2026, the President signed Proclamation 11069 (Federal Register document number 2026-19554, 91 FR 60497), extending the same restriction for another 12 months starting September 21. The proclamation does not mention the litigation anywhere.
• The key open question: the June judgment vacated 10 implementing documents issued under the old proclamation. The new proclamation is a newly signed document, so in theory the government could issue new implementing documents for it. If it does, the plaintiffs could go back to court and argue that the judgment applies to the new documents too. As of today, neither step has happened.

Timeline

1. September 19, 2025: Proclamation 10973 signed, effective September 21 (Federal Register 2025-18601)
2. October 3, 2025: Employers, unions, religious groups and others sue in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Global Nurse Force v. Trump, case number 4:25-cv-08454 (docket)
3. December 12, 2025: Twenty states sue in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, State of California v. Noem, 1:25-cv-13829 (docket)
4. December 31, 2025: After losing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (1:25-cv-03675-BAH), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Association of American Universities appeal; D.C. Circuit case number 25-5473 (docket)
5. March 9, 2026: Oral argument in the Chamber of Commerce case at the D.C. Circuit (docket entry)
6. June 8, 2026: The Massachusetts court rules, vacating the parts of the 10 implementing documents that require the $100,000 payment (judgment, opinion)
7. June 11, 2026: The government appeals; First Circuit case number 26-1699 (docket)
8. June 12, 2026: The district court denies the government's motion for a stay, but grants an administrative stay while the appeals court decides (per paragraph 3 of the government's September 15 motion)
9. July 24, 2026: The First Circuit (Judges Barron, Gelpí and Rikelman) denies the government's stay request; the district court's vacatur takes effect again, and USCIS stops collecting the fee (order)
10. August 25, 2026: DHS separately publishes a proposed rule, "Fee for Certain H-1B Petitions" (RIN 1615-AD20, Federal Register 2026-17324), with comments due September 24
11. August 26, 2026: The government files its opening brief (refiled September 3 to meet formatting requirements) (docket)
12. September 9, 2026: The appeals court clerk grants the states an extension; their answering brief is now due November 4 (order)
13. September 15, 2026: The government asks the appeals court to reverse that extension, arguing among other things that the proclamation can be renewed, so the case will not become moot when it expires (motion)
14. September 18, 2026: Proclamation 11069 signed, effective 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on September 21, running through September 21, 2027 (Federal Register 2026-19554)
15. September 21, 2026: The appeals court denies the government's request; the November 4 deadline stands (order)
16. September 24, 2026: Plaintiffs in Global Nurse Force file a notice concerning the pending motions for a preliminary injunction, class certification and to dismiss; the text is not in the public docket database (docket)

Which sources did we check?

How does this affect you?

H-1B workers already in the U.S. filing an extension or changing employers: Nothing to do. Both proclamations apply only to entry from outside the U.S., and right now the $100,000 implementing measures are vacated.

If you are outside the U.S. and your employer is about to file a new H-1B petition for you: According to the USCIS page, petitions filed now do not need the $100,000 payment. But the new proclamation is in effect on paper, and the government has said it "still intends to collect the fee if the order is lifted." If the petition can be filed sooner, file it sooner; don't wait.

Employer HR and attorneys: Watch two things: whether USCIS issues implementation guidance for the new proclamation, and the appeals court's decision. Do not pay the fee on your own under the new proclamation.

H-1B holders planning to travel abroad and come back: Check with your employer's attorney before you leave. The proclamation governs the act of "entry," and individual situations differ.

What you don't need to do: Don't delay a job change or give up on the lottery because of headlines saying the restriction was "extended another year." The only things that are certain right now: the money is not being collected, and the litigation isn't over.

What to watch next

• November 4, 2026: The states file their answering brief with the First Circuit; the government may then file a reply brief within 21 days. No argument date has been set.
• Any implementation guidance from USCIS or the State Department on Proclamation 11069. This will determine whether the new proclamation still falls within the scope of the June judgment.
• The D.C. Circuit's decision in the Chamber of Commerce case (argued in March).
• The Northern District of California's ruling on the motion to dismiss in Global Nurse Force.
• The final rule on DHS's $103,000 fee rule (1615-AD20). That is a separate track and not the same thing as the proclamation.

Related articles

• H-1B $100,000 restriction extended another year: does it affect people already in the U.S. or waiting for a green card?
• New H-1B rule looks at company layoffs: will it affect your extension, job change or green card?
• A $103,000 surcharge per H-1B lottery petition: what the rule actually says
• H-1B and L-1 extension fees now apply more broadly

This article is for general information and is not legal advice.