Trump’s New H-1B Crackdown: What the September 18 Orders Actually Do — and What the Viral Claims Get Wrong

September 19, 2026 | Midtown Tribune

President Donald Trump signed two major H-1B actions on September 18, 2026: an executive order increasing federal scrutiny of employers using the program and a proclamation extending a $100,000 payment requirement for certain H-1B workers seeking entry into the United States.

A viral video published by commentator Benny Johnson describes the action much more broadly, using the headline: “Trump Just ENDED Every H-1B Visa in America with ONE Massive Change… ‘Charge $100K, Prosecute Fraud.’”

That headline does not accurately describe what the presidential documents say.

The H-1B program has not been abolished, existing H-1B visas have not all been canceled, and the $100,000 requirement does not apply without exception to every H-1B worker or every H-1B petition.

At the same time, the underlying policy changes are substantial: the administration extended the $100,000 entry-related requirement, directed agencies to examine layoffs of American workers when reviewing H-1B cases, ordered a review of previously filed labor-condition applications, and expanded interagency scrutiny of employers participating in the program.

Official source: White House — Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers, September 18, 2026

Key Facts

On September 18, President Trump signed:

an executive order titled “Enhancing Program Integrity and Interagency Coordination in the Administration of the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Program”;
a presidential proclamation extending restrictions initially imposed in September 2025;
an extension of the $100,000 payment requirement for covered cases;
instructions for federal agencies to consider whether an H-1B sponsoring employer recently laid off, or plans to lay off, similarly situated U.S. workers;
instructions for the Department of Labor to review previously submitted Labor Condition Application data;
expanded coordination among the Departments of State, Labor, Homeland Security, Commerce and Education and the Small Business Administration.

Official Executive Order:
White House — Enhancing Program Integrity and Interagency Coordination in the Administration of the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Program

Official White House Fact Sheet:
White House — President Donald J. Trump Further Enhances Program Integrity and Interagency Coordination in the H-1B Visa Program

Claim: “Trump ended every H-1B visa in America”

Finding: The presidential documents do not say this.

Trump’s September 18 proclamation explicitly continues operation of the H-1B system while imposing restrictions on certain entries.

Section 1 states that entry into the United States to perform services in an H-1B specialty occupation is restricted except for covered cases accompanied or supplemented by the required $100,000 payment, subject to specified exceptions.

The proclamation therefore restricts H-1B entry rather than abolishing the H-1B classification.

It does not state that every existing H-1B visa has been canceled.

Read the proclamation:
White House — Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers

Claim: Every H-1B now costs $100,000

During the video, Johnson describes the measure as a “$100,000 fee for every single alien H-1B visa application.”

The actual presidential proclamation uses narrower language.

Section 1(a) states that entry is restricted except for H-1B workers “whose petitions are accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $100,000,” subject to exceptions.

Section 1(b) specifically addresses H-1B specialty-occupation workers currently outside the United States.

There is also a national-interest exception.

Under Section 1(c), the Secretary of Homeland Security may exempt:

an individual worker;
workers employed by a particular company; or
workers in an industry,

if their employment is determined to be in the national interest and not a threat to the security or welfare of the United States.

The White House fact sheet itself describes this as a $100,000 fee requirement for certain H-1B visa applications.

Primary sources:

White House — Presidential Proclamation

White House — H-1B Fact Sheet

How Long Does the $100,000 Requirement Last?

The September 18 proclamation extends the restrictions for another 12 months.

The proclamation says the restrictions will continue until 12:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on September 21, 2027, unless they are extended again.

The administration also directs senior federal officials to recommend whether the restrictions should be continued beyond that date.

Official document:
White House — September 18, 2026 Proclamation

Claim: Companies That Fire American Workers Will Be Prosecuted

The video says the administration will investigate companies using H-1B workers after firing Americans and describes the policy as leading to prosecution.

The executive order itself is more specific.

It directs the Secretary of State, Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Homeland Security to consider whether a sponsoring employer:

“engaged in layoffs within the previous year or plans future layoffs that negatively affect similarly situated United States workers.”

The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is also directed to review previously submitted Labor Condition Application information and determine whether additional action against sponsoring employers is warranted under applicable law.

The executive order does not state that every employer that lays off an American worker while employing an H-1B worker automatically faces criminal prosecution.

Official Executive Order:
White House — H-1B Program Integrity Executive Order

What the Trump Administration Says About H-1B Abuse

The September 18 executive order states that certain employers, third-party placement groups and outsourcing firms have abused the program to obtain lower-cost foreign labor and displace American workers.

The order identifies alleged abuses involving:

displacement of U.S. workers;
preferential treatment affecting U.S. workers;
misrepresentation of job duties or working conditions;
attempts to improperly qualify jobs as specialty occupations;
wage-related violations;
questionable degrees or worker qualifications.

These are findings and policy statements contained in the Trump administration’s executive order.

Full text:
White House — September 18 H-1B Executive Order

Claim: H-1B Applications Are Down 90%

The video says H-1B applications have “collapsed by 90%.”

The administration does report a decline of that scale — but for a more specific category.

According to the September 18 presidential proclamation, combined registrations from the largest IT staffing and outsourcing firms fell from 24,946 to 2,055, a decline of approximately 92%.

That is not the same measurement as all H-1B applications nationwide.

The White House also reports a nearly 97% decline in consular processing requests between the FY2025 and FY2027 H-1B cap seasons.

Official data:
White House — Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers

What Changed in the H-1B Selection Process?

The proclamation also discusses a separate change implemented by the Department of Homeland Security.

The administration moved toward a weighted selection process favoring higher-paid and higher-skilled positions for cap-subject H-1B petitions.

According to the White House proclamation, beneficiaries with at least a U.S. master’s degree increased from 45.1% of FY2026 registrations to 66.1% in FY2027.

It also states that approximately 46.3% of selected registrations were associated with the two highest wage levels, compared with 17.8% at the lowest wage level.

Source:
White House — September 18 H-1B Proclamation

Claim: The 60-Day Grace Period Has Already Been Eliminated

The video says DHS has moved to scrap the 60-day grace period and describes a fired H-1B employee as immediately losing the ability to remain in the United States.

As of September 19, 2026, DHS has proposed eliminating the grace period, but the published document is a proposed rule, not a final rule.

The Federal Register document states:

“ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.”

It proposes removing the availability of the up-to-60-day discretionary grace period from 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) for several employment-based nonimmigrant classifications, including H-1B workers.

Therefore, as of September 19, the federal government’s own publication describes elimination of the grace period as a proposed regulatory change.

Official Federal Register document — PDF:
GovInfo — Eliminating the Discretionary 60-Day Grace Period, September 11, 2026

Complete September 11 Federal Register issue:
GovInfo — Federal Register, September 11, 2026

Texas H-1B Fraud Investigations

The video also discusses investigations by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

There are official Texas government records confirming those investigations.

On April 30, 2026, the Texas Attorney General announced that Civil Investigative Demands had been issued to nearly 30 North Texas businesses as part of an investigation into suspected H-1B visa fraud and abuse.

The Attorney General’s office said investigators were examining allegations involving so-called “ghost offices” and businesses allegedly misrepresenting their operations in connection with foreign-worker sponsorship.

Official Texas Attorney General announcement:
Texas Attorney General — Investigation Into Nearly 30 North Texas Businesses Suspected of H-1B Visa Fraud

Texas Lawsuit Over Alleged Fake Childcare Businesses

On May 12, 2026, Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a lawsuit against Golden Qi Holdings LLC and Yuan Yao.

The Attorney General alleges that websites associated with the defendants advertised childcare businesses that did not actually provide the advertised services and were used to sponsor H-1B workers.

These are allegations contained in a government civil lawsuit and should not be presented as a criminal conviction or established finding of guilt.

Official Texas Attorney General source:
Texas Attorney General — Lawsuit Against Golden Qi Holdings Over Alleged Fake Childcare Businesses and H-1B Sponsorship

Claim: 90% of Indian H-1B Applications Contain Fraud

The video cites a claim that as many as 90% of applications from India contain fraudulent documents or involve unqualified applicants.

That 90% figure does not appear in the September 18 White House executive order, the September 18 presidential proclamation, or the Texas Attorney General documents cited above.

The Trump administration’s executive order does allege extensive abuse within parts of the H-1B system, including concerns involving credentials, qualifications, wages and employer conduct.

But the presidential documents reviewed for this article do not state that 90% of Indian H-1B applications are fraudulent.

That statistic should therefore be attributed to the outside source making the claim rather than presented as an official U.S. government finding.

Official White House Executive Order:
White House — H-1B Program Integrity

India and the H-1B Program

The video spends substantial time making broader cultural and political arguments about Indian immigrants before discussing the administration’s September 18 actions.

Those statements are commentary by the video host.

The September 18 presidential order focuses instead on subjects including employers, outsourcing, wages, displacement of U.S. workers, worker qualifications, compliance and administration of the H-1B program.

Readers should distinguish the video’s commentary from findings actually contained in federal documents.

What Actually Changed on September 18

1. The $100,000 restriction was extended

The administration extended the entry-related $100,000 payment requirement for covered H-1B cases for another 12 months, subject to specified exceptions.

Official proclamation

2. Layoffs of U.S. workers become an explicit review factor

Federal officials are instructed to examine recent and planned layoffs of similarly situated American workers when administering H-1B cases.

Official Executive Order

3. Previous Labor Condition Applications will be reviewed

The Labor Department is directed to review previously submitted LCA information to determine whether further action may be warranted.

Official Executive Order

4. More federal agencies will participate

Commerce, Education and the Small Business Administration will provide additional information alongside State, Labor and DHS.

Official White House Fact Sheet

5. The administration is prioritizing higher-paid and higher-skilled workers

The White House says its weighted-selection approach is shifting H-1B selections toward workers associated with higher wage levels and advanced qualifications.

Official proclamation and administration data

6. The 60-day grace period is targeted, but the published action is still a proposed rule

DHS proposes eliminating the discretionary grace period, but the September 11 Federal Register document is not a final rule.

Official Federal Register proposed rule

Confirmed vs. Viral Claims

Viral-video claim	What official records show
Trump “ended every H-1B visa”	The presidential documents continue the H-1B system while imposing additional restrictions.
Every H-1B application costs $100,000	The proclamation covers specified H-1B cases and contains national-interest exceptions.
Companies that fire Americans will automatically be prosecuted	Layoffs become a review factor; enforcement depends on applicable law and findings by federal agencies.
H-1B applications fell about 90%	The administration reports a roughly 92% decrease for registrations associated with the largest IT staffing and outsourcing firms.
Consular processing requests fell dramatically	The White House reports a nearly 97% decline between specified H-1B cap seasons.
The 60-day grace period is already gone	DHS has proposed eliminating it; the September 11 publication is a proposed rule.
Texas is investigating about 30 businesses	Confirmed by the Texas Attorney General.
Texas sued over alleged fake childcare businesses used for H-1B sponsorship	Confirmed as allegations contained in a state civil lawsuit.
90% of Indian applications are fraudulent	That figure is not stated in the federal or Texas government documents reviewed for this article.