H1b initiative

On September 19, 2025, The U.S. Department of Labor announced the launch of Project Firewall, an H-1B enforcement initiative that will safeguard the rights, wages, and job opportunities of highly skilled American workers by ensuring employers prioritize qualified Americans when hiring workers and holding employers accountable if they abuse the H-1B visa process.

Overview

The H-1B program applies to employers seeking to hire nonimmigrant aliens as workers in specialty occupations or as fashion models of distinguished merit and ability. A specialty occupation is one that requires the application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and the attainment of at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. The intent of the H-1B provisions is to help employers who cannot otherwise obtain needed business skills and abilities from the U.S. workforce by authorizing the temporary employment of qualified individuals who are not otherwise authorized to work in the United States.

The law establishes certain standards in order to protect similarly employed U.S. workers from being adversely affected by the employment of the nonimmigrant workers, as well as to protect the H-1B nonimmigrant workers. Employers must attest to the Department of Labor that they will pay wages to the H-1B nonimmigrant workers that are at least equal to the actual wage paid by the employer to other workers with similar experience and qualifications for the job in question, or the prevailing wage for the occupation in the area of intended employment – whichever is greater.

Key News

  • On September 19, 2025 Presidential Proclamation (PP) Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers, was issued, restricting the issuance of H-1B visas, except for those aliens whose petitions are accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $100,000. These restrictions apply only to H-1B petitions filed with USCIS after the Proclamation’s effective date of September 21, 2025, at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). 

    H-1B FAQs on State.gov: www.state.gov/h-1b-faq

  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) guidance regarding the PP On September 9, 2025, USCIS proposed to amend its regulations governing the process by which it selects H-1B registrations for unique beneficiaries for filing of H-1B cap-subject petitions (or H-1B petitions for any year in which the registration requirement is suspended). USCIS proposes to implement a weighted selection process that would generally favor the allocation of H-1B visas to higher skilled and higher paid aliens, while maintaining the opportunity for employers to secure H-1B workers at all wage levels, to better serve the Congressional intent for the H-1B program. See the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to learn more.
  • On January 31, 2024, USCIS published a final rule that, for the first time since 2016, adjusts certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees.

General Guidance

H-1B Presentation

Forms

Fact Sheets

Disqualified and Willful Violator Employers

  • DOL maintains a list of individuals or corporations who, as a result of an H-1B investigation/final agency action, have been disqualified from approval of petitions to participate in the nonimmigrant program. In addition, willful violator employers are subject to random investigations by the Department of Labor for a period of up to five years from the date that the employer is determined to be a willful violator.

Nonimmigrant Worker Related Agency Links

Civil Money Penalty Inflation Adjustments

On November 2, 2015, the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 was enacted to advance the effectiveness of civil money penalties and to strengthen their deterrent effect. The law requires agencies across the federal government to adjust their penalties for inflation not later than January 15 of every year. Effective in 2016, agencies across the federal government must adjust their penalties for inflation each year. Visit our Civil Money Penalty Inflation Adjustments webpage for current H-1B civil money penalty amounts as well as more general information on the penalty adjustments.