$100,000 H-1B payment extended through September 2027 — while a court injunction remains in force

On 18 September 2026 the president signed a new proclamation extending the $100,000 payment on new H-1B petitions for another 12 months — from 21 September 2026 through 21 September 2027. As before, the requirement covers workers who are outside the United States at filing and must obtain a visa at a consulate; a change of status inside the country and extensions fall outside it. The White House justifies the extension by saying the policy reduced employers’ reliance on “cheap” foreign labor: registrations from large outsourcing companies in the 2026 lottery fell 92%. Exceptions in the national interest are provided for certain people, companies and industries.

The extension sits on top of unfinished litigation. On 8 June 2026 a federal court in Massachusetts held the payment an unlawful tax the president has no power to impose, and struck down the collection order. The government appealed, but in August the First Circuit refused a stay — since then the payment has not been collected. DHS said it would comply with the court and resume collection if the ruling is reversed.

What it means in practice?

Formally a Russian national can still file an H-1B petition from abroad today without $100,000 — while the court injunction holds. In practice employers do not: if the appeal goes the government’s way, the payment would have to be made before the visa issues, and no one wants that risk in a year-ahead budget. So H-1B remains a working route for people already in the United States who change status — and almost unusable for those filing from Russia, Kazakhstan or Europe.

The proclamation does not apply to petitions without a sponsoring employer: O-1 is filed through a petitioner with no extra payment and no lottery; EB-1A and EB-2 NIW are filed by the applicant for a green card. A full breakdown of work routes for a Russian passport is in the article “A U.S. work visa for Russian nationals in 2026”.

Watch two dates: the appeals court decision, which will determine whether the payment is collected, and March 2027 — registration for the FY2028 lottery, where wage-weighted selection will apply for the second time.