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Employment-based immigration feels unusually noisy right now. Employers and foreign national employees are seeing headlines about new fees, proposed wage increases, court decisions, visa restrictions and processing delays, often without a clear explanation of what is actually in effect and how it actually affects your team and decision-making.
The most useful response is not panic. It is to separate current rules from proposals, identify the developments that affect your workforce, and plan earlier than you may have planned in the past.
Below are some of the key Fall 2026 developments for employers, HR professionals, recruiters, global mobility teams and foreign national employees. Keep in mind that changes are happening frequently and sometimes suddenly, so make sure to confirm the current requirements before making a filing or international travel decision.
We have good news for employers and foreign nationals pursuing permanent residence sponsorship through the PERM labor certification process. Department of Labor processing times have improved from the 15-to-17-month waits employers often experienced in recent years. We're currently seeing that PERM labor certifications are taking about a year, or sometimes less, to be processed by DOl. Likewise, prevailing wage requests are currently taking 3-4 months, instead of the 6-7 months we have seen in recent months and years. These are averages and queue indicators, not guarantees for a particular case.
Admittedly, a year is still a long time for PERM processing, especially because PERM is only one part of the permanent residence process. Employers should also allow time for the prevailing wage determination, recruitment, PERM preparation, the I-140 petition and, depending on the employee’s country of birth and preference category, the Visa Bulletin backlog.
Practical takeaway: If an employee is important to your long-term workforce, do not wait until the employee is approaching the end of temporary status to discuss permanent residence sponsorship.
The Department of Labor has proposed a new method for calculating prevailing wages in the H-1B, H-1B1, E-3 and PERM programs. If finalized substantially as proposed, the rule could increase required wage levels for many positions and materially affect sponsorship costs and strategy.
This is a proposed rule. It is not currently effective. Employers should not assume that the proposed wage levels apply today.
Still, organizations with upcoming H-1B extensions or potential PERM cases should identify those matters early. A final rule would operate prospectively, and having a valid prevailing wage determination or existing approved petition may affect how a future change applies to a particular case.
The new F-1 and J-1 rule was scheduled to take effect on September 15, 2026. Among other changes, it would have replaced “duration of status” admissions for many F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors with fixed end dates. That change would have created new extension requirements and made tracking I-94 expiration dates even more important for students, J-1 visa holders, and their employers.
On September 14, 2026, a federal judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction preventing the rule from taking effect while litigation continues. The existing duration-of-status framework therefore remains in place for now. The rule has been delayed, not necessarily eliminated, and employers that hire F-1 students, OPT or STEM OPT workers, or J-1 exchange visitors should continue to monitor the litigation.
The H-1B fee landscape is especially confusing because two separate measures are often discussed together.
First, the $100,000 H-1B fee requirement imposed in 2025 on certain H-1B petitions for workers outside the United States was vacated by a federal district court in June 2026, meaning it is not currently in effect. However, the government could appeal the decision at any time.
Second, DHS has proposed a separate $103,265 fee for H-1B cap-subject petitions, including petitions eligible for the advanced-degree exemption. The proposal is not currently effective. The public comment period is scheduled to close September 24, 2026. If you would like to submit a comment to express your concern about this rule, you can use the form created by the American Immigration Lawyers Association to submit a comment.
Practical takeaway: Do not assume that a headline about one H-1B fee answers the question for another. Confirm which rule, petition type and procedural posture apply before budgeting or filing.
USCIS processing times remain inconsistent, and many petitions are taking substantially longer than employers expect. USCIS processing delays can create a number of challenges:
Practical takeaway: File extensions and other petitions as early as possible to reduce the chance of needing to upgrade to premium processing.
Keep in mind that a visa renewal must be completed at a U.S. embassy or consulate outside the United States - it cannot be done inside the U.S., unlike filing an extension petition to extend a foreign national's stay in the U.S. Further, current Department of State policy generally requires a person to return to their home country for visa stamping, rather than having it done in a third country. In addition, the process now typically requires an interview, even for visa renewals.
Earlier this year, the administration implemented a pause on the issuance of immigrant visas for applicants in 75 different countries. At the end of August, a federal judge vacated that policy as unlawful. However, the DOS has canceled immigrant visa interviews worldwide to implement a "full review of all screening and vetting policies to ensure that immigrants from high-risk countries do not unlawfully utilize welfare in the United States or become a public charge." At this time we don't know when immigrant visa interviews will resume. Note that the cancelation of interviews is only for immigrant visas; it does not affect nonimmigrant visas such as H-1B, L-1, TN, etc.
In addition, the administration has implemented a 39 country visa ban. Some countries are subject to a full ban, meaning DOS is not issuing immigrant visas or nonimmigrant visas; other countries are subject to a partial ban, meaning only certain visa classifications are affected. This particular ban has not been lifted as of the date of this blog post.
Practical takeaway: If you have an employee who is going through the employment-based green card process and has planned to apply for the immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate overseas, instead of applying for the adjustment of status here in the U.S., the interview scheduling process will likely take longer than expected, at least for now. Further, if you have an employee who wishes to travel overseas, be sure to confirm with your immigration lawyer to confirm they will not be affected by the 39 country visa ban.
Ending with hopeful news, October begins the federal government’s new fiscal year and brings a new annual allocation of employment-based immigrant visa numbers. That often produces meaningful movement in the Visa Bulletin, although advancement is never guaranteed and later retrogression is possible.
Employers and foreign national employees with priority dates that are approaching being current should review the October 2026 Visa Bulletin as soon as it is released and confirm whether USCIS will permit use of the Dates for Filing chart or the Final Action Dates chart for adjustment-of-status filings that month.
The common thread across these Fall 2026 developments is the need for earlier, more coordinated planning. Employers are dealing with proposed rules, active litigation, changing filing costs, long processing times, visa backlogs and travel restrictions. None of that means employers should stop hiring or sponsoring talented foreign national employees.
It means immigration planning should be integrated into the flow of workforce planning, not something addressed only when an expiration date is a few weeks away.
If you are not yet a Sumner Immigration Law client and you’re looking for an experienced, empathetic, and efficient team to help you navigate the process with confidence, please contact us today to set up your initiation consultation to get the process started! You can set an appointment online. You can also call us at 804-214-7870 or send us an email at info@sumnerimmigration.com.
This blog post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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