First, it is now clear that those who currently have a pending or approved H-1B petition or a valid H-1B visa are not subject to the September 19 presidential proclamation and exorbitant fee. Those people will be able to enter the United States after the restrictions take effect at 12:01am EDT tonight, according to both the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) emergency memoranda.
Second, the USCIS and CBP guidance clarifies that the proclamation applies only to those foreign nationals for whom an H-1B petition is filed on or after September 21, 2025, the effective date of the proclamation.