President Trump signed a proclamation extending the $100,000 H-1B fee for another 12 months, effective September 21, 2026, and a companion executive order directing agencies to weigh an employer's recent layoffs when reviewing H-1B petitions. The administration says the fee has reduced H-1B filings by outsourcing firms and shifted hiring toward higher-paid workers. The policy remains contested in court: a Massachusetts judge vacated the original fee as an unlawful tax, a Washington, D.C. court upheld it, and the First Circuit has refused to pause the Massachusetts ruling while the government appeals.