On Monday, a federal judge blocked the $100,000 fee established by President Donald Trump on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign professionals, ruling that the administration acted beyond its legal authority and imposed an unauthorized tax.
Judge Leo Sorokin of the U.S. District Court in Boston determined that the executive branch violated federal administrative law by introducing the fee. His decision followed a legal challenge by 20 states contending the measure unlawfully restricted their ability to fill key positions, including medical and teaching roles.
The Trump administration defended the fee as a legitimate penalty permissible under immigration law, which allows the president to limit the entry of foreign nationals when considered contrary to U.S. interests.
However, the judge concluded that the fee functioned not as a penalty but as a tax—something the president has no power to levy under current statutes without direct congressional approval. Sorokin also pointed to a recent Supreme Court decision that similarly curtailed presidential authority to impose tariffs under emergency powers.
H-1B visas are widely used by technology firms to recruit talent that is often unavailable in the domestic workforce, with a significant proportion of recipients coming from India. Following the announcement of the fee, employers and workers both within and outside the United States expressed alarm, leading to multiple legal actions.
In their case, the states argued that the higher costs made it even more challenging to hire essential personnel for schools, higher education, and healthcare, while also threatening ongoing academic research.
The $100,000 fee gave rise to at least three lawsuits, including one from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. That organization is currently appealing a separate ruling from a Washington, D.C., court that upheld the administration’s authority.
The Department of Homeland Security responded to Monday’s decision by stating its disagreement and characterizing the ruling as judicial activism that undermines the administration’s efforts on immigration reform.
