On September 19, 2025, President Trump signed a Proclamation, “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers,” which instituted a $100,000 application fee for new H-1B visa applications and directed several executive branch agencies to initiate rulemaking to reform aspects of the program. A few days later on September 24, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking outlining its intent “to implement a weighted selection process that would generally favor the allocation of H-1B visas to higher skilled and higher paid aliens.”  

Many questions remain on the specific impacts of these developments on colleges and universities, which have historically recruited many foreign faculty and researchers entering the country on H-1B visas, and which have remained exempt from certain aspects of the program’s requirements. 

Please stream this 30-minute audio-only briefing during which immigration law experts, Leigh Cole and Kara Lynum, will provide an overview of the legal and practical considerations accompanying these developments, and the potential impacts on higher education institutions.   

Note: This program is part of NACUA's "Executive Branch Updates" series, which follows the Transition Updates: The First 100 Days series.