USCIS issues first round of national interest exception denials for $100k H-1B payment, including for physicians

We have received anecdotal reports that USCIS has started to deny petitioners’ requests for a national interest exception to President Trump’s $100,000 H-1B payment Proclamation. These national interest exception denials include those made for physicians seeking to enter the U.S. to provide medical care. 

One of the national interest exception denials states that the decision was “made after consideration of all relevant factors and evidence, and in the exercise of the Secretary[ of Homeland Security’s] discretion consistent with the authority vested by the Proclamation. The decision is based on the specific facts and circumstances of your request.”