H-1B $100,000 fee deemed illegal: What happens next?

A federal judge has declared that a $100,000 fee imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on new H-1B visas for high-skilled foreign workers is illegal and must be invalidated, dealing a major blow to the Trump administration and its plans to raise the cost of the H-1B visa program. U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston made the ruling in a lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic state attorneys general challenging Trump’s September announcement of a significant increase in the cost of obtaining H-1B visas. The Department of Homeland Security has not yet reacted to the ruling, but the government can appeal the ruling or a stay of execution.Immigration attorney Rahul Reddy said that as things stand, H-1B petitions can be filed for free even with consular proceedings.“The most important part of the decision is that the court did not treat the $100,000 fee as a normal immigration application fee. The court stated that the $100,000 payment requirement amounted to a tax, not a penalty.” “This distinction is important because taxes are controlled by Congress, not the president,” Reddy said.“Let me get this straight: If the administration wants to end or reshape the H-1B program, it must go to Congress, not quietly build a six-figure wall through a proclamation,” he said.

this is a timetable H-1B visa fees dispute

September 19, 2025

September 20, 2025

September 21, 2025

September to October 2025

October 20-23, 2025

March to April 2026

June 2026

June 3-8, 2026A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration’s $100,000 H-1B fee was unlawful, overturning the policy.