Status as of September 29, 2026. President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14431 on September 18, directing the Departments of State, Labor and Homeland Security to consider an H-1B sponsoring employer's recent or planned layoffs when processing labor condition applications, petitions, visas and entries. The order was published in the Federal Register on September 23. It also directs the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division to begin reviewing data from previously submitted labor condition applications within 30 days.

Executive Order 14431 adds an employer's layoff history to the factors federal agencies are directed to consider in administration of the H-1B visa program. The order covers layoffs during the previous year as well as planned future layoffs that negatively affect similarly situated U.S. workers.

The directive does not say that an employer that conducted layoffs is automatically barred from sponsoring H-1B workers, and it does not establish a numerical test for how layoffs should affect an individual case. Instead, it instructs the responsible agencies to take that information into account under existing provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Employer layoffs are now an explicit review factor

Section 3 of Executive Order 14431 directs the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Homeland Security to consider whether an H-1B sponsoring employer directly or indirectly engaged in layoffs within the previous year or plans future layoffs that negatively affect similarly situated U.S. workers.

The directive applies across several stages of the H-1B process: labor condition applications, petitions, visas and the entry of H-1B nonimmigrants seeking to perform services in a specialty occupation.

The order cites sections 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), 212(n), 214(i), 215(a) and 274B of the Immigration and Nationality Act. It does not create a separate statutory definition of a disqualifying layoff or specify how much weight agencies must give a layoff when making a particular decision.

A layoff does not automatically require denial

The text of the order does not establish an automatic-denial rule for employers that have reduced their U.S. workforce. It requires agencies to take recent or planned layoffs into account when applying the cited provisions of immigration law.

That distinction matters because existing H-1B law already contains specific labor protections and, in some circumstances, displacement rules. The Labor Department's H-1B provisions define concepts such as a U.S. worker, layoff and displacement for purposes of particular statutory requirements. Executive Order 14431 directs the agencies to apply the new review within that existing legal framework rather than creating a new standalone statutory prohibition.

State, Labor and DHS must consult three additional agencies

The order also creates a broader interagency review structure. When processing H-1B petitions, labor condition applications and visas, the Secretaries of State, Labor and Homeland Security are directed to coordinate with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Education and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration.

Commerce, Education and the Small Business Administration are directed to provide relevant information concerning wages, employment, academic matters, industry conditions and other economic data.

The stated purpose of this coordination is to help the agencies assess compliance with H-1B statutory requirements, including specialty-occupation rules, labor condition requirements and employment-discrimination provisions.

Labor must begin reviewing previously filed LCAs

Executive Order 14431 gives the Department of Labor a separate deadline. Within 30 days of the September 18 order, the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, must begin reviewing data related to previously submitted labor condition applications.

The purpose of that review is to determine whether further action against sponsoring employers may be warranted under section 212(n)(2)(G) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The order does not state that every previously certified LCA will be reopened or subjected to a new adjudication. Its text directs the Wage and Hour Division to begin reviewing existing LCA data to determine whether additional action is warranted.

What the existing H-1B wage rule requires

The order's preamble argues that abuses of the H-1B program have placed downward pressure on wages and cites an estimated wage gap of $9,000 to $20,000 in H-1B-reliant industries. Those figures are findings asserted by the administration in the executive order rather than a new wage formula established by the order.

The underlying statutory wage rule remains more specific. The Department of Labor states that an H-1B employer generally must pay the higher of two amounts: the actual wage paid by the employer to workers with similar experience and qualifications for the specific employment, or the prevailing wage for the occupation in the area of intended employment.

Executive Order 14431 does not replace that required-wage formula. It adds layoff history and additional interagency information to the administration's review of H-1B compliance.

The administration cites layoffs, outsourcing and fraud

The executive order gives several reasons for the new policy. The administration states that some employers, outsourcing firms and third-party placement companies have used H-1B workers in ways that displace U.S. workers or suppress wages.

The order states that technology-sector employers requested H-1B visas for hundreds of thousands of workers while the sector recorded between 800,000 and 1.3 million layoffs from 2022 through 2026. It also states that the six largest H-1B users operating with an outsourcing business model accounted for more than 25,000 H-1B cap registrations in fiscal year 2026.

Those figures are presented in the executive order as part of the administration's rationale. The order does not establish that every employer that uses H-1B workers and conducted layoffs displaced U.S. employees with foreign workers.

The administration also states that federal investigations have identified fraud and noncompliance involving some H-1B employers, including alleged displacement of U.S. workers, misrepresentation of job duties or working conditions, manipulation of wage requirements and questionable foreign credentials.

The order further characterizes abuse of the program as a national-security concern, arguing that displacement and wage practices could discourage U.S. workers from pursuing science and technology careers. That is the administration's policy rationale for the directive, not a separate legal element that an H-1B petitioner must independently prove under the order.

The order delegates additional implementation authority

Executive Order 14431 delegates authority under section 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to the Secretaries of State, Commerce, Labor and Homeland Security to the extent necessary to implement the directive.

The order specifically states that implementation may include rules, policies, operational guidance or other agency guidance. The executive order itself does not prescribe a new H-1B form, a new filing fee or a numerical scoring system for evaluating employer layoffs.

This is separate from the $100,000 H-1B restriction

The layoff-review executive order is separate from Proclamation 11069, also signed on September 18. That proclamation extended for another 12 months the restriction originally imposed in 2025 on entry of certain H-1B workers whose petitions are not accompanied or supplemented by a $100,000 payment, subject to specified exceptions.

Executive Order 14431 concerns program review, agency coordination, layoffs and enforcement. Proclamation 11069 concerns the separate entry restriction and $100,000 payment requirement. The two presidential actions were issued together but operate through different legal mechanisms.

What changed and what did not

  • Layoff history: State, Labor and DHS are directed to consider layoffs by the sponsoring employer during the previous year and planned future layoffs affecting similarly situated U.S. workers.

  • Interagency review: Commerce, Education and the Small Business Administration are directed to provide wage, employment, academic, industrial and economic information.

  • Previously filed LCAs: the Wage and Hour Division must begin reviewing related data within 30 days of the September 18 order.

  • Automatic denial: the order does not state that an employer's layoffs automatically require denial of an H-1B petition, visa or LCA.

  • Required wage: the existing rule requiring payment of the higher of the applicable actual wage or prevailing wage remains in place.

  • $100,000 restriction: that requirement comes from a separate presidential proclamation, not Executive Order 14431.

Frequently asked questions

Does Executive Order 14431 automatically block H-1B petitions after an employer conducts layoffs?

No. The order does not create an automatic denial rule. It directs State, Labor and DHS to take recent or planned layoffs into account when applying the cited provisions of immigration law.

How far back does the H-1B layoff review reach?

The order directs agencies to consider whether the sponsoring employer directly or indirectly engaged in layoffs within the previous year, as well as planned future layoffs that negatively affect similarly situated U.S. workers.

What does the order require for previously submitted labor condition applications?

Within 30 days of the September 18 order, the Wage and Hour Division must begin reviewing data related to previously submitted labor condition applications to determine whether further action against sponsoring employers is warranted.

Official sources

Disclaimer: Factum Immigration is a journalistic publication. This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Immigration laws, regulations and agency practices may change. For advice about an individual case, consult a qualified immigration attorney or an accredited representative.