President Trump signed a new executive order on 18 September 2026 aimed at H-1B specialty-occupation filings. The order is titled Enhancing Program Integrity and Interagency Coordination in the Administration of the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Program. The White House published the text under presidential actions the same day.
If you hold H-1B status, seek a transfer, or wait on a new petition, your sponsor now faces closer review of recent and planned layoffs. The Secretaries of State, Labor, and Homeland Security must weigh layoff history when reviewing labor condition applications, petitions, visas, and entry for specialty-occupation workers.
What the order directs agencies to weigh
Section 3 of the order tells the three lead secretaries to take layoff facts into account during H-1B reviews. Agencies must ask whether the employer sponsor engaged in layoffs within the previous year, either directly or indirectly. Agencies must also ask whether the sponsor plans future layoffs harming similarly situated United States workers.
The order does not rewrite the Immigration and Nationality Act on face value. The text directs agencies to act consistent with existing law through rules, policies, and operational guidance. Authority under INA section 215(a) is delegated to State, Commerce, Labor, and Homeland Security as needed for implementation.
Fragomen, Ogletree, and Envoy Global each issued client alerts on 18 September 2026 summarizing the same core duties. Secondary coverage matches the White House text on layoff scrutiny and the Labor Department review clock.
Thirty-day Labor Department review of prior LCAs
Within 30 days of the order date, the Secretary of Labor must begin a data review through the Wage and Hour Division. The review covers previously submitted labor condition applications. The goal is to decide whether further action against sponsoring employers is warranted under INA section 212(n)(2)(G).
For you as a worker, the review clock matters because past LCA filings tied to your employer enter the enforcement lens. For your employer, prior attestations now sit under active scrutiny for possible Wage and Hour follow-up.
- Lead agencies: State, Labor, and Homeland Security
- Consult partners: Commerce, Education, and the Small Business Administration
- Data types named in the order: wage, employment, academic, industrial, and other economic information
- Review trigger: prior-year layoffs or planned layoffs harming similarly situated United States workers
- Enforcement hook cited: INA section 212(n)(2)(G)
Figures the White House cites for program abuse
The purpose section of the order frames H-1B misuse as a wage and displacement problem. The text claims an estimated wage gap starting at $9,000 and climbing as high as $20,000 in H-1B reliant industries.
The order also claims technology-sector employers requested hundreds of thousands of H-1B visas while laying off somewhere between 800,000 and 1.3 million American employees from 2022 through 2026. Those figures come from the executive order itself as presidential findings, not as independent MigrantIQ counts.
On outsourcing models, the order states the top six H-1B users with an outsourcing business model accounted for over 25,000 H-1B cap registrations in Fiscal Year 2026. The text argues many roles move offshore after H-1B teams replace United States workers at third-party client sites.
Interagency coordination you should expect
Section 2 orders the Secretaries of State, Labor, and Homeland Security to coordinate with Commerce, Education, and the Small Business Administration. Consult partners must supply relevant wage, employment, academic, industrial, or other economic information.
In practice, LCA review, petition adjudication, visa issuance, and border entry for H-1B specialty-occupation workers all sit inside the same coordination frame. Your case file faces more cross-agency context than a siloed Labor or USCIS check alone.
The order names statutory anchors including INA sections 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), 212(n), 214(i), and 274B. Implementation must stay consistent with applicable law and subject to available appropriations.
Companion fee proclamation and careful reading
A proclamation issued alongside the order extends the existing $100,000 fee for certain new H-1B petitions until at least 2027. Secondary reporting from IBTimes UK on 19 September 2026 describes the extension. Fragomen and Envoy Global note implementing details as forthcoming.
Do not treat the fee extension as settled collection practice in your own planning. Court challenges surround the fee policy in earlier coverage. Focus first on layoff scrutiny and the 30-day Wage and Hour data review, which sit in the signed executive order text.
Practical steps for workers and sponsors
Ask your employer for a clear timeline on pending H-1B petitions, extensions, and amendments. Request confirmation on whether company layoff activity in the past year touches roles similar to yours. Save LCA copies, offer letters, and any public layoff notices tied to your worksite.
If you work through a staffing or outsourcing model, map the client site, the sponsor of record, and any offshore handoff plans. The order text singles out outsourcing business models and third-party placement patterns as program-risk themes.
Sponsors should inventory layoff announcements, WARN notices, and future reduction plans before filing new LCAs or petitions. Counsel alerts from Fragomen, Ogletree, and Envoy Global on 18 September 2026 already urge employers to prepare for closer interagency questions.
- Document prior-year headcount changes for roles near your specialty occupation
- Track Wage and Hour guidance as the 30-day review window opens
- Watch State, Labor, and Homeland Security operational memos for filing instructions
- Treat the companion fee proclamation as a separate track from layoff scrutiny
Limits written into the order
Section 4 states the order creates no enforceable private right against the United States or agency officers. Invalidation of one provision leaves the rest standing. Publication costs fall on the Department of Homeland Security.
The order still leaves room for agencies to issue detailed rules and operational guidance. Until those documents arrive, your safest move is to treat layoff history as a live factor in H-1B filings and to keep counsel updated on employer workforce changes.
MigrantIQ will track agency guidance as State, Labor, and Homeland Security publish implementing steps. For now, the 18 September 2026 signature date, the layoff review duty, and the 30-day Wage and Hour LCA data review define the immediate compliance map for you and your sponsor.
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