This Week in U.S. Immigration: What Actually Changed (September 28 – October 3, 2026)
I know a lot of you likely had a rough week trying to keep up with the headlines, so let's take a more measured look at what actually happened this week.
Four things moved this week that matter if you're an H-1B holder, an F-1 student, or thinking about EB-5: a second federal court blocked the $100,000 H-1B fee, the October Visa Bulletin reopened some green card categories for India, EB-5 filing fees are about to jump significantly, and there was a lot of political noise about H-1B's future. It is important that while this noise feels scary, it is not the same thing as a policy change. Policy changes take loads of procedural red tape, and as of late, a LOT of litigation.
The $100,000 H-1B Fee Got Blocked Again
On September 30th, Federal Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr., in the Northern District of California, in a case called Global Nurse Force v. Trump issued a preliminary injunction stopping USCIS and other agencies from enforcing the $100,000 H-1B fee, both the original version and its 2026 extension.
This is a second court doing this. You may remember the Massachusetts court already vacated enforcement of this fee back in June, and the First Circuit declined to pause that ruling in July. This new California ruling doesn't strike down the fee itself or decide whether the President had the authority to impose it in the first place. Unfortunately, it's a bit narrower than that. It says the agencies skipped the legally required public notice-and-comment process when they tried to implement it, so enforcement has to stop until that process happens properly.
What this means practically: the fee remains unenforceable right now, on top of already being unenforceable from the Massachusetts ruling. The government's motion to dismiss the case was also denied, so this keeps going.
Political Noise: Vance Says H-1B Is "Completely Broken"
On October 2, Vice President Vance said publicly that he considers H-1B "completely broken" and that he'd be "very supportive of just eliminating it," accusing companies that hire H-1B workers at lower salaries of "destroying American jobs."
This is a political opinion, not a policy change. Nothing about the H-1B program changed because of this statement. No new rule was issued, no proclamation was signed, no agency took action. It's the same pattern we are seeing constantly: strong rhetoric that gets amplified because it's scary, but it does not move any legal lever. Any meaningful to reform to the H-1B program (especially fully halting it) would have to go through congress.
That said, I'm not going to tell you to ignore it. Comments like this from a sitting VP tell you where some of the political pressure is pointed, and that's worth knowing when you're thinking about long-term planning. Just remember that these quotes, especially during an election year, are meant to rile people up, but they do not actually effectuate change.
October Visa Bulletin: Some Real Movement for India
On September 29th, the State Department finally released the October 2026 Visa Bulletin, which is the start of fiscal year 2027. There's genuine good news in it for some of you: India's EB-2 category reopened with a Final Action Date of November 1, 2013, India's EB-1 advanced to February 1, 2023, and EB-5 unreserved opened up with a December 1, 2023 date. USCIS is accepting Dates for Filing this month as well, which means many people with January 2015 priority dates will receive their EAD/AP cards soon, too.
A couple of honest caveats: coverage of this bulletin noted it was released unusually later than normal, which left very little lead time for people trying to get filings in under the new numbers — one former USCIS official called the compressed window "unreasonable and in most cases impossible." The State Department has also explicitly said further adjustments are possible depending on demand, meaning a category reopening this month is not a guarantee it stays open next month. If you're in EB-2 or EB-1 and your priority date is now current, talk to your attorney about filing now rather than waiting to see what November brings.
EB-5 Filing Fees Are About to Jump…A Lot
On September 30, USCIS published a final rule overhauling EB-5 fees, effective roughly November 29, 2026 (60 days after publication). Some of the increases are steep:
Form I-526E (regional center investors): $3,675 → $7,850
Form I-956 (regional center designation): $17,795 → $44,115
Form I-956F (commercial enterprise): $17,795 → $42,675
A brand-new $10,330 Form I-527 for certain legacy investors, plus a new $75 EB-5 "Technology Fee"
A few fees actually go down (the I-956 Amendment fee and the I-956G annual statement fee), so it's not uniformly bad news, but the headline increases are substantial. If EB-5 is on your radar, and with the October bulletin reopening EB-5 unreserved for India, it may be more relevant to more of you right now. It’s important to note that applications and petitions postmarked on or after the effective date need the new fee amounts, or they'll be rejected outright.
Quick Myth-Busts From This Week
As usual, the rumor mill is doing its job to spread fear. There are a few things I want to touch on, specifically.
"USCIS is raising H-1B and OPT fees again." Not accurate. USCIS did announce FY2027 inflation adjustments effective October 16, but those four fee increases apply to asylum, parole, and TPS-related filings (I-589, I-131, I-765 for asylum/parole/TPS, I-821), not to H-1B petitions, premium processing, OPT, or STEM OPT.
An old, unverified stat about H-1B fraud resurfaced in Indian press this week. A claim that "80-90% of H-1B visas to Indians are fraudulent." This traces back to one former consular officer's roughly 20-year-old personal recollection, with no actual data behind it. It is not a government statistic. Please don't let a scary-sounding number like this sit unquestioned. If you see this circulating, be sure to ask the one circulating for their actual source… because it is untrue, and a verifiable source does not exist.
TLDR
The $100,000 H-1B fee is still not enforceable: a second federal court (N.D. Cal.) blocked it on September 30th, on top of the earlier Massachusetts ruling.
VP Vance's comments calling H-1B "completely broken" are rhetoric, not policy. Nothing legally changed because of them.
The October Visa Bulletin reopened India EB-2 and EB-5 unreserved, and advanced India EB-1. If your priority date is current, talk to your attorney about filing soon, as the State Department has flagged more adjustments may come (read: retrogression).
EB-5 filing fees are jumping significantly for filings on or after ~November 29th; If EB-5 is part of your plan, get ahead of this deadline with your attorney.
The October 16th USCIS fee increase is for asylum/parole/TPS categories; it does not affect H-1B or OPT/STEM OPT fees.
As always: verify before you panic, and talk to a licensed immigration attorney about your specific situation before making any decisions based on a headline.
This post is for general information only and is not legal advice. For guidance on your specific situation, please consult a licensed immigration attorney.
