US court blocks Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee

Boston: A US federal judge on Monday struck down a $100,000 fee imposed by President Donald Trump on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, ruling it to be an unlawful tax not authorized by Congress.

US District Judge Leo Sorokin, sitting in Boston, issued the ruling in a lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic state attorneys general.

The case challenged a policy introduced by the Trump administration in September that significantly increased the cost of H-1B visa applications.

The H-1B programme allows US employers to hire foreign professionals in specialised fields, issuing 65,000 visas annually, along with an additional 20,000 visas for individuals holding advanced degrees. These visas are generally valid for three to six years.

Prior to the contested policy, employers typically paid between $2,000 and $5,000 in application fees, depending on the nature of the petition.

The new $100,000 charge represented a substantial escalation, which court filings indicated had already discouraged applications.

According to the filings, US Citizenship and Immigration Services had received only 85 payments under the revised fee structure as of February 15.

The Trump administration defended the measure, arguing that the fee was a permissible monetary penalty under federal immigration law and was intended to regulate the entry of certain foreign workers.

However, Judge Sorokin, appointed by former President Barack Obama, rejected that position, concluding that the charge functioned as a tax rather than a penalty and therefore required congressional approval.

“In substance and application, the $100,000 payment constitutes a tax, regardless of how it is described,” the judge wrote in his ruling.

The White House has not yet issued an official response to the decision.