A U.S. federal court has struck down the Trump administration’s $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications, removing a major cost burden that had threatened to disrupt the hiring of highly skilled foreign workers.
Judge Leo Sorokin of the U.S. District Court in Boston ruled that the fee amounted to a tax that the executive branch had no authority to impose without congressional approval. The decision voids a policy introduced by President Donald Trump last year that raised H-1B application costs from a few thousand dollars to $100,000 per worker.
The ruling is expected to provide relief to technology firms and other businesses that rely on the visa program to recruit engineers, scientists, healthcare professionals and other specialized talent from overseas.
The H-1B program, established in 1990, allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations for up to six years. It is widely used by major technology companies and is capped at 85,000 new visas annually, including allocations for graduates of U.S. universities.
Industry groups argued that the steep increase made participation financially impractical for many employers. Several companies, including Walmart, suspended their use of the program following the fee hike.
Court records showed limited uptake of the policy, with only 85 payments made as of mid-February, suggesting the higher cost significantly reduced demand for new applications.
The Trump administration has announced plans to appeal the decision, maintaining that the measure was intended to curb misuse of the visa system and protect American workers. The case was brought by a coalition of 20 U.S. states, while business organizations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, separately challenged the policy in court.
