- Federal judge strikes down Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee.
- The fee raised H-1B costs 20–50 times.
- Ruling eases pressure on companies relying on program.
A FEDERAL JUDGE on Monday ruled that the $100,000 fee imposed by President Donald Trump on H-1B visa applications was unlawful because Congress had not approved it. The fee had sharply increased the cost of hiring foreign workers under the visa program.
“The court finds that the policy imposes a tax on H-1B petitions without the requisite delegation by Congress,” U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin of Boston, Massachusetts, said in a ruling, according to PTI.
Sorokin issued the 42-page ruling in a lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic state attorneys general challenging the fee Trump announced in September. The ruling vacated the fee, which increased existing H-1B application costs by 20 to 50 times. The Trump administration is expected to appeal.
The court found that the fee amounted to a tax rather than a regulatory restriction, according to The Guardian. Because the Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to levy taxes, Trump lacked the authority to impose it.
Sorokin cited the 2026 Supreme Court decision in Learning Resources v. Trump, which limited a key element of Trump’s tariff policy.
"Here, the substance and application of the $100,000 payment reveal that it is a tax, regardless of what the payment is called," Judge Sorokin wrote.
The judge agreed with the 20 states that the Trump administration exceeded its authority and that the fee encroached on Congress’s power to set immigration policy and taxes. The fee, typically paid by sponsoring employers, was intended to encourage companies to hire Americans, administration officials said.
The ruling provides relief for technology companies that rely heavily on the program. Amazon received more than 10,000 H-1B approvals in the first half of 2025, while Microsoft and Meta each received more than 5,000, The Guardian reported.
Indian diaspora organisations in the U.S. have welcomed the federal court order, calling it a fair move for the employment-based immigration system.
“We welcome the Massachusetts federal court's decision striking down the $100,000 H-1B visa fee, which restores predictability and fairness to the employment-based immigration system,” Khanderao Kand, chief of policy and strategy at the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies, told PTI.
The H-1B program allows US employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations for up to six years. Congress issues 65,000 visas annually, plus 20,000 for advanced-degree holders. US technology companies are among the largest users of the program and Indians, including technology workers and physicians, are among the largest groups of H-1B visa holders.
