Trump's $100K H-1B visa application fee rejected by judge

A federal judge struck down a $100,000 fee President Donald Trump ordered for H-1B visa applications, providing a reprieve for U.S. technology companies that rely on hiring skilled foreign workers.

The president's decree dramatically increasing the cost of the popular visa is an unlawful tax and must be vacated, U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin in Massachusetts said in a Monday ruling. The government said it would appeal the decision, which is a blow for the Trump administration's campaign to restrict immigration and boost demand for U.S. workers.

Sorokin sided with California and 19 other states that sued to block the fee, arguing in their lawsuit that the policy exceeded Trump's authority and would be especially detrimental in key public sectors, including education and health care.

"The court finds that the policy imposes a tax on H-1B petitions without the requisite delegation by Congress," Sorokin said in the ruling. 

The White House disputed the judge's ruling and said it would appeal.

"President Trump has clear legal authority to restrict entry of any class of aliens he determines is not in America's best interests, and that is exactly what he did," spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement. "The H-1B program has been abused for decades, and President Trump finally took action to fix it. A federal judge in Washington already upheld a nearly identical order, and the administration is confident this order will be reversed on appeal."

The case is one of at least three suits challenging the initiative. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a nurse recruiting firm are pursuing two separate cases against the administration's policy. In December, a judge rejected the Chamber's request to block the fee and the Chamber appealed the decision to a federal appeals court in Washington.

The H-1B visa program is a cornerstone of employment-based immigration, allowing companies in the U.S. to hire college-educated foreign workers for specialized occupations. In September, Trump signed a proclamation to increase the application fee to discourage companies from abusing a program that he claimed displaces U.S. workers.

The fee, which was set to expire after one year unless renewed by the administration, was the first of several administrative changes aimed at tightening rules and regulations around the popular high-skilled visa program. The administration has also proposed raising the minimum wage H-1B workers must be paid and has changed the rule for its annual H-1B lottery to give preference to the highest paid foreign workers.

H-1B visas are awarded based on a lottery system, but are used primarily in the tech industry. Amazon.com Inc., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Microsoft Corp., Meta Platforms Inc. and Apple Inc. are among the companies with the greatest number of H-1B visas, according to the U.S. government.

The administration has defended the application fee as a necessary step to reform the H-1B visa program. They say that the fee isn't a tax, because it isn't collected by the Internal Revenue Service and doesn't raise revenue.

The government also argued that the president has "broad discretion" to restrict the entry of noncitizens into the country. 

Sorokin cited the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down Trump's sweeping global tariffs in determining that the president does not have unilateral authority to impose taxes or tariffs in situations where the law is not explicit.

"Ambiguous language is not sufficient for establishing the delegation of the taxing power," he said.

The case is led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell. Other states suing include Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

The case is State of California v. Mullin, 25-cv-13829, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts.