On September 18, 2026, US President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order introducing stricter integrity measures for the H-1B visa programme, which will affect Kenyan professionals in technology, engineering, and healthcare. The Order directs federal agencies to apply heightened scrutiny to H-1B nonimmigrant visa applications, focusing on whether sponsoring employers have recently laid off or plan to lay off similarly situated American workers.
The new rules require a layoff consideration at every stage of the H-1B process, including when the Department of Labor certifies a Labour Condition Application, when the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services adjudicates the petition, when a consulate issues the visa, and when the applicant presents at the border. The review window stretches back one full year and also covers planned future reductions, including layoffs carried out "directly or indirectly".
The Secretary of Labor has been instructed to begin reviewing previously submitted LCA data within 30 days of the Order's signing to determine whether further action is warranted against employers who may have breached programme rules. This move aims to enhance program integrity and interagency coordination in the administration of the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program.
For Kenyan professionals, the United States has long been a primary destination in fields such as software engineering, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and data science. The H-1B programme has historically served as the main route for skilled Kenyan graduates to access that market, but the new measures add both financial and administrative barriers to that pathway.
Companies that sponsor Kenyan workers already employed in the US pay a visa fee of $215, far below the $100,000 threshold applicable to certain other categories, making Kenyan talent attractive to American employers. However, firms that have recently reduced their workforces may now face closer examination of any new H-1B petitions they submit.
The effects of tightening H-1B policy are already measurable, with H-1B registrations from the largest IT outsourcing companies dropping by 92% following 2025 restrictions, and total employer registrations falling to roughly 344,000 in 2025, a decline of more than 25% compared with 2024. Approvals for the top 100 H-1B employers are on track to fall by more than 10% in fiscal year 2026.
Kenyan professionals pursuing the H-1B route should confirm that their prospective sponsors have not conducted relevant layoffs in the past year and do not have plans to do so. They should also anticipate longer processing timelines and greater documentation demands as agencies implement the order, and consider alternative destinations such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany.
Key points
- The new US work visa rules will increase scrutiny of H-1B applications from Kenyan professionals.
- The rules require a layoff consideration at every stage of the H-1B process.
- The effects of tightening H-1B policy have already led to a significant decline in registrations and approvals.
