New Executive Order instructs USCIS to consider recent petitioner layoffs when adjudicating H-1B petitions and calls for interagency coordination to ensure compliance with H-1B program

On September 18, 2026, President Trump issued an Executive Order entitled "Enhancing Program Integrity and Interagency Coordination in the Administration of the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Program."

The Executive Order calls for interagency coordination when processing petitions, labor condition applications, and H-1B visas among the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, who are instructed to "coordinate and consult with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Education, and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to ensure the compliance of such petitions, applications, and visas with statutory requirements..."

Among other things, the Executive Order also calls for the Secretary of State, Secretary of Labor, and Secretary of Homeland Security to consider "whether the employer sponsor directly or indirectly engaged in layoffs within the previous year or plans future layoffs that negatively affect the employment of similarly situated United States workers."

To learn more, read the Fact Sheet from the White House here and this article from Bloomberg Law.