🚨 September 18 H-1B Executive Order: H-1B Cases May Face More Scrutiny

On September 18, 2026, the White House issued an executive order titled “Enhancing Program Integrity and Interagency Coordination in the Administration of the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Program.” The order directs DHS, DOL, and the Department of State to coordinate more closely when handling H-1B labor condition applications, petitions, visas, and entries.

After reviewing the order, Attorney Xiaozeng identified two major areas to watch:

1️⃣ H-1B review will now take employer layoffs into account

The order directs the Department of State, Department of Labor, and DHS to consider whether an H-1B sponsoring employer directly or indirectly carried out layoffs within the previous year, or plans future layoffs that negatively affect similarly situated U.S. workers.

The order also directs the Department of Labor, within 30 days, to begin reviewing data related to previously submitted LCAs to determine whether further action against certain sponsoring employers may be warranted.

The basic policy logic is that H-1B workers are intended to supplement the U.S. workforce, rather than replace similarly situated U.S. workers.

So if a company recently laid off a group of U.S. workers and then quickly files a large number of H-1B petitions for similar positions, that situation could receive additional scrutiny.

⚠️ But this does NOT mean that a company that has conducted layoffs can no longer sponsor H-1B workers.

The executive order does not establish a simple rule such as “any company that laid off employees cannot file H-1Bs.”

There are still many details to be worked out, including:

👉 How many layoffs would be considered significant?

👉 Does it need to involve the same department or position?

👉 How far back will the agencies look?

👉 What explanations or evidence can an employer provide?

The executive order itself does not answer all of these questions, so we will need to see how the agencies implement it.

From a practical standpoint, H-1B employees should also be cautious about changing jobs. In particular, an H-1B receipt notice is not the same thing as an H-1B approval. The legal requirements for H-1B portability and when employment may begin still need to be followed carefully.

2️⃣ More cross-agency coordination in H-1B cases

The executive order requires DHS, DOL, and the Department of State to coordinate with the Department of Commerce, Department of Education, and Small Business Administration. Those agencies may provide relevant wage, employment, academic, industry, and other economic information.

Previously, different agencies generally handled different parts of the H-1B process:

DOL → LCA, wages, work location, etc.

USCIS → I-129 petition, specialty occupation, employer information, status history, etc.

Department of State → visa processing for applicants applying abroad

CBP → inspection and admission at the border

That doesn’t mean these agencies never shared information.

But the new executive order places much greater emphasis on coordinated review across agencies.

📌 We’ve already been seeing more employer-data verification

For example:

1. USCIS + VIBE / D&B

USCIS uses the VIBE system, which can draw on commercial business information such as Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) data to verify employer information.

We have seen RFEs questioning situations such as:

👉 USCIS could not verify that the company was actually operating in the stated state;

👉 The company appeared to have only two employees in available records, while the H-1B petition reported ten employees.

2. USCIS + tax/payroll information

Another area of concern is whether employer tax and payroll records are consistent with the information reported in the H-1B petition—for example, Form 941, W-2s, payroll records, and reported employee numbers.

3. Financial and business information

Where legally authorized, agencies may also use relevant financial or business information to verify whether the claimed employment relationship and wage payments are genuine.

4. USCIS + consular processing

Information discovered during prior USCIS investigations can also become relevant when an employee later applies for an H-1B visa abroad.

For example, if an employer previously faced an onsite investigation involving suspected improper H-1B arrangements, that history could potentially become relevant during later visa processing.

📌 What does this mean for H-1B workers?

Overall, the September 18 executive order signals more coordinated agency oversight and additional scrutiny of employers, particularly where there are concerns about layoffs, wage issues, employer information, or compliance.

For employees, two practical points are especially important:

👉 When choosing an employer, pay attention to whether the employer has a reliable H-1B compliance history.

👉 When changing employers, don’t assume that simply receiving an H-1B receipt notice means the case is already approved or that every employment situation is automatically safe. Make sure the applicable H-1B portability requirements are satisfied before beginning work.

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