Court blocks Trump’s $100,000 H-1B charge

June 09, 2026 (MLN): A federal judge has invalidated a $100,000 fee that President Donald Trump had imposed on new H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers, ruling it an unlawful tax imposed without congressional approval.

U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston delivered the ruling in a case brought by 20 Democratic state attorneys general, who challenged the fee Trump declared in September.

The H-1B visa program is heavily used by technology companies to hire foreign talent.

The Trump administration defended the fee as a lawful monetary penalty, citing presidential authority under federal immigration law to restrict entry of foreign nationals deemed detrimental to national interests, as reported by Reuters. 

Sorokin, however, found the payment to be a tax in substance, regardless of what it was labelled, and ruled that neither the State Department nor U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had authority to enforce it.

The judge drew on a Supreme Court ruling from February that struck down Trump's sweeping tariffs pursued under emergency trade legislation, applying similar reasoning to conclude the president lacked authority under immigration law to levy such a charge.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said the administration was confident the ruling would be reversed on appeal, reaffirming the president's legal authority to restrict entry of any class of foreign nationals he deems contrary to American interests.

The H-1B program issues 65,000 visas annually, plus an additional 20,000 for holders of advanced degrees, with approval periods of three to six years.

Prior to Trump's proclamation, employer fees for obtaining the visa typically ranged between $2,000 and $5,000.

As of mid-February, only 85 payments of the $100,000 fee had been recorded by USCIS.

In announcing the fee, Trump had stated the H-1B program was being exploited to displace American workers with cheaper foreign labour.

The fee exempted foreign nationals already in the United States on student visas, who form a significant portion of new H-1B recipients.

The administration has separately introduced enhanced vetting for H-1B applicants and proposed a revised selection process favouring higher-skilled and better-compensated workers.

At least three lawsuits have challenged the fee. A separate case by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in which a Washington, D.C. judge rejected similar claims in December, is currently on appeal.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who led the multi-state coalition behind the Boston case, welcomed the ruling, saying the fee had threatened the country's ability to attract skilled talent critical to its economy and workforce.

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