Tuesday, June 9, 2026- A federal court has struck down a controversial policy introduced under Donald Trump that imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, ruling it unlawful and immediately blocking its enforcement.
The decision, issued by the U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston, found that the fee amounted to a tax that the executive branch had no authority to impose without approval from Congress.
The ruling came after a lawsuit led by 20 state attorneys general, who argued the policy severely disrupted hiring of skilled foreign workers in critical sectors like technology, healthcare, and education.
The court said the administration exceeded its legal powers under immigration and administrative law, emphasizing that only Congress can authorize such financial levies. Judge Sorokin also pointed to federal legal limits on executive authority, concluding that the H-1B fee violated the Administrative Procedure Act and could not stand as a regulatory charge.
The decision effectively blocks the State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from collecting the fee, restoring the standard visa process that previously cost only a few thousand dollars.
The ruling delivers immediate relief to U.S. companies that rely heavily on the H-1B program to hire skilled foreign professionals, especially in Silicon Valley and research institutions.
Business groups and universities had warned that the fee would make it financially impossible for smaller employers to sponsor foreign talent and could damage innovation and public services. While the Trump administration is expected to appeal, the judgment marks a major legal setback for efforts to reshape the H-1B system through executive action alone.
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