United States digital nomad visa & residency (2026)

New restrictions suspend issuance of B-1/B-2 visitor visas and certain other nonimmigrant visas for nationals of over 39 countries including Russia, Cuba, Iran, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Foreign digital nomads from affected countries lose one of the only US admission pathways available to remote workers.

President Trump signed a proclamation restricting entry of H-1B specialty-occupation workers unless their petition is accompanied by a $100,000 payment, effective September 21, 2025, for 12 months; existing visas and renewals are exempt. The measure sharply curtails the primary employer-sponsored route for skilled foreign professionals to work lawfully in the United States.

DHS finalized sweeping updates to the H-1B specialty-occupation program, codifying the 'directly related' degree requirement, clarifying when amended petitions are required after remote-work place-of-employment changes, and strengthening employer compliance obligations. It is the most significant H-1B regulatory overhaul since the program was created in 1990.

President Biden revoked Proclamation 10052 and related COVID-era presidential actions that had suspended entry of H-1B, L-1, J-1, and other nonimmigrant workers, restoring normal work-visa pathways. The revocation acknowledged that the pandemic-era labor-market justification no longer applied.

President Trump extended immigration-entry restrictions to cover nonimmigrant H-1B, H-2B, L-1, and J-1 visa holders, banning their US entry through December 31, 2020 citing COVID-19 unemployment. The action demonstrated that even the established work-visa pathways—the only legal routes for skilled remote professionals—are subject to broad executive suspension.

Enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 114-113), this law restricted VWP eligibility for travelers who had visited Iraq, Syria, Iran, or Sudan since 2011, mandated electronic passports, and gave DHS emergency power to suspend countries from the program. It tightened the VWP—the only no-visa, 90-day entry option for nationals of the 42 partner countries that includes most common digital-nomad nationalities.

DHS implemented the Electronic System for Travel Authorization as a mandatory screening requirement for all Visa Waiver Program travelers following the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007. ESTA governs 90-day visitor stays for nationals of 42 partner countries and is the principal no-visa entry mechanism relied upon by foreign digital nomads visiting the US.

Congress enacted the Visa Waiver Program Permanent Act (P.L. 106-396), converting the 1986 pilot into a standing program that allows nationals of designated countries to visit the US for up to 90 days without a visa for tourism or business. Paid work—including remote work for a foreign employer—remained explicitly prohibited under this admission category.

President George H.W. Bush signed IMMACT 90 (P.L. 101-649), establishing the H-1B visa for workers in specialty occupations requiring a bachelor's degree, setting an annual cap of 65,000, and mandating prevailing-wage Labor Condition Applications. The H-1B became—and remains—the primary legal route for foreign knowledge workers, including remote professionals, to be employed in the United States.

President Reagan signed IRCA (P.L. 99-603), which established the Visa Waiver Pilot Program allowing nationals of up to eight designated countries to enter the US for up to 90 days without a visa. This laid the framework for the VWP—still today the closest mechanism to a digital-nomad entry pathway available in the US.

The INA (P.L. 82-414) consolidated US immigration law and codified the B-1 (business visitor) and B-2 (tourist) nonimmigrant categories, neither of which permits paid employment of any kind. Because the US has never created a dedicated remote-work or digital-nomad visa, the B-1/B-2 and VWP remain the de-facto options for most visiting foreign remote workers—while explicitly prohibiting them from being paid.