DFA advises Filipinos in US to avoid travel amid new H-1B visa rules

National

THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has advised Filipinos in the United States holding H-1B work visas to avoid traveling abroad for now, following fresh restrictions imposed by the Trump administration on nonimmigrant worker entries.

While the DFA clarified that current H-1B holders are not directly affected by the new policy, it warned that those who leave the US risk complications upon reentry as guidelines on the measure remain unclear, a report by Inquirer.net stated.

“The recent proclamation restricting the entry of certain nonimmigrant workers to the United States has raised understandable concern among our kababayans,” the DFA said in a statement. “We wish to assure the public that Filipinos account for only 1.3 percent of all H-1B visa holders, and those already in the US will not be affected by this measure.”

Still, the agency urged caution, particularly as employers may be required to shoulder hefty costs for workers seeking to reenter the US after travel. One such requirement is a one-time fee of $100,000 (around ₱5.8 million) tied to the processing of H-1B applications under the updated rules.

The additional fee took effect on September 21 as part of reforms meant to curb what US President Donald Trump described as the “large-scale replacement” of American workers by foreign employees.

Trump argued that some companies have abused the H-1B program to suppress wages, disadvantaging local workers and making it harder to attract top-tier talent.

He also ordered the Department of Homeland Security to give priority to higher-paid, highly skilled foreign applicants over lower-wage earners.

Despite the sweeping changes, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services clarified that the new rules do not alter renewal fees for existing H-1B visa holders. The agency also confirmed that those already working legally in the US will not be prohibited from leaving and reentering the country.

The H-1B program allows US employers to hire foreign professionals in specialized fields, particularly in technology, healthcare, and engineering. Filipinos make up a small fraction of the nearly 600,000 H-1B visa holders in the US but remain part of industries directly affected by the policy shift.