A US federal judge blocks Trump's $100K fee for employers' H-1B visa applications, saying it violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution

A federal judge on Monday vacated President Donald Trump's policy imposing a $100,000 fee for employers' H-1B visa applications. — The visa payment policy violated …

CNBC 2026-06-09 Kevin Breuninger

Context & Ripple Effects

The proposed H-1B charge had already been narrowed in administration guidance to future applicants outside the US, excluding renewals and existing holders returning to the country. That limitation reduced its reach but did not resolve the legal challenge to the policy itself.

This also follows an earlier court defeat for a Trump-era H-1B requirement that IT companies said drove denials higher. The latest ruling reinforces that major changes to the program remain vulnerable when implemented without the required legal process.

First-order effects

Employers seeking to hire affected H-1B candidates are no longer subject to the vacated $100,000 application fee, removing the immediate cost barrier created by the policy.
The administration cannot enforce the fee as structured after the judge found violations of the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution.

Second-order effects

Companies that had adjusted recruiting or sponsorship plans around the fee can reassess those plans, while prospective hires face less employer-side friction in the relevant application path.
The ruling increases pressure on the administration to pursue any comparable H-1B restriction through a procedurally durable route rather than relying on the invalidated policy.

Third-order effects

If courts continue to reject major H-1B changes on procedural grounds, immigration policy for skilled workers will remain shaped as much by administrative-law constraints as by presidential priorities.
For tech and other H-1B-dependent employers, repeated reversals make legal durability—not merely the announced scope of a rule—a central factor in workforce planning.

The trend: The decision is another data point in the continuing judicial check on efforts to reshape skilled-worker immigration through executive action.

Discussion

Newsmax Newsmax on x
Judge Strikes Down Trump's $100K H-1B Visa Fee
@repmikelawler Congressman Mike Lawler on x
Some news for providers and patients across America: A federal judge has struck down the Administration's new $100,000 H-1B visa fee. I have been working to exempt healthcare workers from this fee that only exacerbates the current staffing shortages in healthcare. That's why I
@repdonbeyer Rep. Don Beyer on x
I'm glad to see the court block President Trump's unlawful H-1B visa fees, which imposed significant new costs and an unnecessary burden on already understaffed healthcare facilities across the country.
@cameron_arcand Cameron Arcand on x
WH tells @townhallcom on federal court ruling shooting down $100k H1-B visa fee that “the Administration is confident this order will be reversed on appeal.” Read more: https://townhall.com/...
@danieldimartino Daniel Di Martino on x
Summary of the H-1B court ruling: The 100K is a “tax” since businesses must pay it and therefore unconstitutional without congress. So why not have the immigrant pay? Because the Immigration and Nationality Act prohibits immigrants from paying fees when sponsored by employers.
@scotus_wire @scotus_wire on x
🚨 A federal judge in Massachusetts struck down President Trump's $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, ruling the President cannot impose what amounts to a tax on employers without authorization from Congress. [image]
@lisamurkowski Sen. Lisa Murkowski on x
Today's decision from a U.S. District Judge to vacate the policy implementing the Presidential Proclamation mandating a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applicants—a 5,000% increase in some cases—came at a critical time for Alaska's schools that are in the midst of hiring before next
@ustechworkers @ustechworkers on x
🚨 Breaking: U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin of Boston has struck down the $100,000 H-1B fee. Had the administration been serious about preventing outsourcing firms from accessing H-1B visas, it could have pursued reforms through the regulatory process that were more likely to [im…
@gsiskind Greg Siskind on x
BREAKING: State AGs have won their suit challenging the $100,000 H-1B tax. The court granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs. “The Policy implementing the Proclamation is declared unlawful and is VACATED in its entirety.” “The Supreme Court's reasoning in this pair
@kyledcheney Kyle Cheney on x
JUST IN: A federal judge has ruled Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee is an unauthorized tax on businesses and must be vacated. https://storage.courtlistener.com/ ... [image]
@upstatefederlst @upstatefederlst on x
I have been reliably informed that a fee is not a tax.
@soumitrashukla9 Soumitra Shukla on x
Anti-Indian hate on this platform is fueled by a basic misunderstanding of what H-1B visas are for. Indians may be hated in the Twitter bubble, but in the real world, most Americans support high-skilled immigration and want more of it.
@ckuck Charles Kuck on x
The H-1B $100,000 fee is illegal, just like we said it was. Congrats to the MA Attorneys and Plaintiffs for getting rid of this illegal tax. “The Supreme Court's reasoning in this pair of precedents supports a finding that the $100,000 payment requirement amounts to a tax, not
@kyledcheney Kyle Cheney on x
The precedent cited by the judge to conclude the H-1B fee is a tax? The Supreme Court's Obamacare ruling. https://storage.courtlistener.com/ ... [image]
@kyledcheney Kyle Cheney on x
NEW: The judge cited two Supreme Court cases that supported blocking Trump's $100,000 H-1B fee: The 2012 Obamacare ruling labeling the individual mandate a tax; the 2026 tariff ruling saying the president can't levy taxes w/o clear approval from Congress. https://www.politico.com…
@newyorkstateag Ny Ag on x
We won our case against the Trump administration for trying to destroy the H-1B visa program. Thousands with these visas serve New Yorkers as doctors, teachers, and other skilled workers. I'll keep fighting to protect them and our immigrant communities. https://www.reuters.com/..…
@daniellefong Danielle Fong on x
this is like the year of personal rule for King Charles in the Revolutions podcast
@repelicrane Rep. Eli Crane on x
Although an activist judge blocked President Trump's reforms to the H-1B program, Congress can fix it without judicial obstruction. Urge your representative to cosponsor the End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026, which halts and significantly reforms this broken system. [image]
@jeremylneufeld Jeremy Neufeld on x
The $100k H-1B entry fee was just declared unlawful and vacated by a federal judge. This has huge implications for the effects of the new Weighted Lottery. While the fee was in place, it only applied to people outside the country, which meant student retention was up since it [im…
@billybinion Billy Binion on x
You love to see it. CONGRESS is the body for lawmaking. If lawmakers would like to put an enormous tax on businesses seeking top talent, they can go on the record and vote on it instead of endlessly tweeting. We don't live in a monarchy.
@david_j_bier David J. Bier on x
DHS/Trump just got busted for violating the Constitution again! This time by imposing a $100,000 tax on H-1B petitions without authorization from Congress. Trump signed the order, but @USCISJoe implemented it. The violations of law and the Constitution mount daily. [image]
@repchiproy @repchiproy on x
Another activist judge (appointed by Obama) just sided against President Trump and his efforts to crack down on the absurdity that is the H-1B program. Rep. Roy just introduced the American White-Collar Worker Jobs Act to END H-1B abuse and protect AMERICAN tech workers.
Amanda Goodman Amanda Goodman on linkedin
A federal judge in Massachusetts has struck down the administration's $100,000 H-1B fee, finding that the fee operated as an unlawful tax and must be vacated. …
r/politics r on reddit
Judge blocks Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee
r/inthenews r on reddit
Judge blocks Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee

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