Federal Register Daily Briefing – September 23, 2026

Transcript

Narrated by an AI presenter with a synthetic voice. Check the official documents for current dates and details.

Welcome back to Federal Register Daily, the show that helps you stay in the loop on new federal rules and presidential actions, and gives you the tools to make your voice heard. I'm glad you're here, and if you're new, hit subscribe so you never miss an episode. Today is September 23rd, 2026. We've got two presidential documents extending and tightening H-1B visa rules, a health insurance marketplace rule that's open for public comment, plus new rules on public records, highway safety grants, and a boating safety zone in New York. Let's get into it.

Our first story is a presidential proclamation about H-1B visas. Last year, the President restricted entry for H-1B specialty occupation workers unless their employer paid a $100,000 fee, with limited exceptions. That restriction was set to expire on September 21st, 2026. This new proclamation extends it for another year, until September 21st, 2027. The stated reason: the restriction is working. The document says H-1B registrations from large IT outsourcing firms dropped 92 percent, and the share of registrants with a master's degree rose from about 45 percent to 66 percent. A related Homeland Security rule now favors higher-skilled, higher-paid workers in the visa selection process. It also says underlying problems like wage suppression and program abuse haven't gone away. This affects employers who sponsor H-1B workers, and the workers themselves. There's no public comment process for a proclamation. Do you think this extension helps American workers, or makes it harder for companies to fill skilled roles?

Quick recap: the President extended the $100,000 H-1B entry restriction for another year, until September 21st, 2027, citing continued program abuse.

Next, a companion executive order on the H-1B program. It directs the Secretaries of State, Labor, and Homeland Security to coordinate with the Departments of Commerce and Education, and the Small Business Administration, when reviewing H-1B petitions and visas, to make sure they meet legal requirements. Agencies must also consider whether an employer has recently laid off American workers before approving new H-1B requests from that employer. The Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division has 30 days to start reviewing past wage data for possible enforcement. The order cites concerns about employers replacing American workers with lower-paid H-1B workers, and ongoing visa fraud investigations. This mainly affects employers who sponsor H-1B workers. As with the proclamation, there's no public comment period for an executive order.

Quick recap: this executive order tells federal agencies to coordinate more closely and factor in recent layoffs when reviewing H-1B visa petitions.

Now for a rule with public comments open. The Department of Health and Human Services has issued an interim final rule pausing new agent and broker registrations for the federal health insurance marketplace, known as the Exchange. If an agent or broker doesn't already have a Plan Year 2026 agreement with the Exchange, they can't register to help people enroll for Plan Year 2027, until the pause ends on February 1st, 2027. This doesn't affect state-run exchanges. HHS says the pause is needed while it builds better safeguards against fraud, unauthorized enrollments, and misuse of people's personal information. Because HHS says advance notice would be against the public interest, the rule took effect immediately, on September 22nd, 2026. But HHS is still asking for public comments, and will decide whether to keep, change, or cancel this policy based on what people say. Comments are due by November 21st, 2026. The link to comment is in the description. If you're an agent, a broker, or someone who relies on one to sign up for health coverage, this could affect you. Have you run into problems using an agent or broker on the marketplace?

Quick recap: HHS has paused new agent and broker sign-ups on the federal health exchange until February 1st, 2027, and is taking public comments through November 21st, 2026.

Moving to a smaller update. The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, known as the Access Board, has finalized changes to its Freedom of Information Act rules. The update brings its procedures in line with FOIA laws passed in 2007 and 2016, and matches Department of Justice guidance. After receiving eight public comments earlier this year, the Board added language clarifying response deadlines, explained what happens if a request doesn't clearly describe the records sought, and revised its fee schedule, including a new hourly rate for IT staff who search for electronic records. This rule took effect September 23rd, 2026, and mainly affects anyone filing a FOIA request with the Access Board. Since this is a final rule, there's no new comment period.

Quick recap: the Access Board finalized updated FOIA rules, including clearer deadlines and a revised fee schedule, effective September 23rd, 2026.

Our next item comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This final rule waives, for fiscal year 2027 only, a requirement that states set identical safety targets in two different federal programs: the highway safety grant program and the highway safety improvement program. The agency says the two programs work under different laws, and giving states more flexibility helps them meet their filing deadlines without waiting on a separate rulemaking at the Federal Highway Administration. This mainly affects state highway safety offices and state transportation departments as they prepare their 2027 safety plans. NHTSA skipped the usual public comment process, saying it was needed to meet state filing deadlines, and the rule took effect September 23rd, 2026. Since this is a final rule issued for good cause, there's no comment period open right now.

Quick recap: NHTSA waived, for one year, the rule requiring identical safety targets across two federal highway programs, effective immediately.

Finally, a local safety notice from the Coast Guard. A temporary safety zone is being set up in Zach's Bay, near Wantagh, New York, for an Ironman triathlon's open water swim at Jones Beach State Park. The event is expected to draw about 3,000 participants and as many as 10,000 spectators. The safety zone covers the swim area, and vessels and people can't enter it without permission from the Coast Guard's Captain of the Port. The zone is in effect from 6 a.m. on September 25th through 4 p.m. on September 26th, but enforcement only runs during daytime hours on each of those two days. The Coast Guard skipped the usual comment process because there wasn't time before the event. This mainly affects boaters and anyone on the water near Wantagh this week.

Quick recap: boaters should avoid Zach's Bay near Wantagh, New York, during enforcement hours on September 25th and 26th for a swim event.

That's it for today's episode. Thank you for being part of this community. If you found this helpful, please subscribe, and tell us in the comments which item matters most to you. Share this video with anyone affected by these rules, especially agents, brokers, or employers sponsoring H-1B workers. And if you want to weigh in on the health exchange agent and broker rule, the comment link is in the description. We'll see you tomorrow with more from the Federal Register.