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BREAKING: Judge Rules That Trump’s $100k H-1B Visa Fee Is an Unlawful Tax

June 8, 2026

On June 8th, a federal judge ruled that the $100,000 fee for H-1B visas – announced by President Trump on September 19, 2025, and haphazardly implemented at 12:01AM the following day – amounts to an unlawful tax on H-1B petitions, and so vacated the relevant Trump Administration policy. It is expected that the administration will appeal the decision, seeking a stay of the order. We will continue to provide updates as events warrant.

Why Was There a $100,000 Fee for H-1B Visas?

The $100k fee – which in some cases raised the cost of submitting an H-1B petition by a factor of 100 – was clearly designed to decrease the number of foreign workers legally entering the country. In issuing Proclamation 10973, President Trump asserted that the H-1B program “has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor,” which, he argued, “undermined both our economic and national security.”

Who Was Subject to This Fee?

This was a source of great confusion in the 72 hours following the policy announcement, as the policy was seemingly contradicted (or clarified) by subsequent FAQs, memos, and tweets released by the administration. Eventually, it became clear that the fee would apply only to new petitions for foreign nationals outside the United States who lacked a valid H-1B visa, as well as anyone already in the U.S. found by USCIS to be ineligible for a change or extension of status. This was a source of great relief for the many thousands of workers already here in H-1B status, who would be able to continue to extend their status without having to pay the onerous fee. That said, many families were still left in limbo, and many employers were unable to hire needed employees – including, as relevant to this case, state universities and hospital systems. Twenty states ultimately joined the lawsuit against the policy, arguing they were harmed by being unable to staff their universities and hospitals.

Why Was The Policy Vacated?

The judge ruled that the fee served as an unlawful tax on the filing of H-1B petitions. The administration had argued variously that the fee was a penalty, not a tax, and also that it was a “regulatory payment”, which is “not the same as a tax.” The judge noted that the administration offered “no definition for what constitutes a ‘regulatory payment,’ cite no cases or statutes employing the term, and advance no reasoned argument explaining how this term encompasses something different than a tax or penalty.” As to the argument that the fee is a penalty, the judge noted that the fee “is not a punishment for an unlawful act or omission,”  because “hiring workers pursuant to the H-1B program is plainly lawful.”

What Happens Next?

The administration is nearly certain to appeal the ruling, and will likely seek to stay the judge’s order (i.e. to have the ruling put on hold until the matter is fully resolved, thus reinstating the fee for the time being). If you are an employer or foreign national seeking to file an H-1B petition that would have been subject to the fee, it is recommended that you speak with an immigration attorney.

TAGS: H-1B, H-1B Fee, Trump, USCIS