A presidential proclamation signed on Sep. 19, 2025, added a $100,000 fee to certain H-1B visa petitions, a move that left universities and foreign workers rushing to understand the changes and the reasons behind them.
The rule, within a proclamation titled “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers,” requires that some new H-1B petitions filed on or after Sep. 21 include proof of the $100,000 payment before they can be processed.
According to the White House and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the fee applies to new petitions for workers outside the country or to cases where a change of status is denied. It does not apply to current visa holders or to students who stay in F-1 status while switching to H-1B inside the U.S.
At Michigan Tech, administrators are still sorting through the details of this new policy, as guidance rolls out in real time. In the past week, USCIS and the Department of Homeland Security have issued updated instructions, including the launch of a Pay.gov portal, whereas before, employers did not know where to address the $100,000 payment.
“Even though we do have some better guidance, we don’t have guidance that tackles every single situation,” said Christian Montesinos, the Director of International Programs and Services. “We’re getting it piece by piece.”
When asked how employers will respond to the six-figure payment, Montesinos was cautious. “I think employers will be fearful at first,” he said. “Whenever there’s any kind of change that might affect their business, they get cautious. At Tech we work with Career Services to educate employers and calm those fears.”
The uncertainty is already felt by prospective workers. Dennis Obideyi, president of Michigan Tech’s African Student Organization, said his members have been trying to make sense of the new rule.
“At first we heard about the $100,000 yearly requirement,” he explained. “Then it was reversed, then proposed again. There’s confusion.” Obideyi noted that if the fee applies to students who already studied in the U.S., “it will hurt a lot of us.” He pointed out that many companies cannot justify the cost to sponsor students. “When it was $5,000 before, many companies didn’t even want to do it. Now it’s $100,000 … it’s going to limit opportunities.”
The fee change affects Michigan Tech directly: Institutional data shows that 50 current Michigan Tech employees hold H-1B visas.
The same day the proclamation was released, the Department of Labor announced Project Firewall, an H-1B enforcement campaign. The Labor Department called it an effort to protect “highly skilled American workers.” It authorizes investigations of employers suspected of abusing the visa system by utilizing the Justice Department. The presidential proclamation restricts entry for certain nonimmigrant workers, while Project Firewall polices the companies that hire them.
Less than two weeks later, the White House circulated a memo proposing a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” to nine major universities. The compact would limit undergraduate international enrollment to 15 percent, with no more than 5 percent from any single country, in exchange for preferential access to grants and other benefits from the federal government. The memo extends the same logic as the H-1B policies, prioritizing U.S. citizens while limiting opportunities for foreign talent. While Michigan Tech was not on that list of universities, President Trump informally extended the invitation to any university that agrees to sign on.
This limiting of opportunities is a concern for international students. “We don’t vote in the election, we don’t take part in any of the government activities,” said Obideyi. “So their policy should not be a major concern. Our primary concern is our studies; we follow the rules as they come. But instability in policy at times can make us very uncomfortable because it creates a level of uncertainty.”
For now, the payment portal is open, Project Firewall investigations have started, and the compact waits for signatures. The guidance keeps trickling out, but lots of questions are still awaiting answers.
