Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

On September 24, 2025, DHS issued a proposed regulation to change the annual H-1B visa lottery from a random lottery of registrants to a weighted system favoring those offered higher salaries by US employers. 

In a rapidly evolving situation broadly impacting the business immigration community, the White House issued a proclamation on Friday, September 19, 2025, implementing significant restrictions on H-1B entry and introducing a $100,000 fee requirement. The situation has been marked by initial confusion followed by crucial clarifications.

On June 16, the Trump Administration reinstated the National Coal Council (“NCC”), a federal advisory committee that lapsed in 2021. The Federal Register notice issued by the Department of Energy (“DOE”) announcing the reinstatement states that NCC is authorized for a two-year term. The NCC will consist of members from various coal-related sectors advising Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on coal matters.

The landscape of immigration enforcement is undergoing a dramatic transformation in 2025. With President Trump's recent executive orders signaling a renewed focus on worksite enforcement, employers across industries must prepare for what many experts anticipate will be the most aggressive immigration enforcement environment in recent history.

Read our full coverage published on Hunton’s Business Immigration blog: Immigration Worksite Enforcement in 2025: What Employers Need to Know Now.