US judge strikes down Trump’s $100,000 H1-B visa fee

play Live Sign upShow navigation menu.css-15ru6p1{font-size:inherit;font-weight:normal;}Navigation menuNewsShow more news sectionsAfricaAsiaUS & CanadaLatin AmericaEuropeAsia PacificMiddle EastExplainedOpinionWorld CupVideoMoreShow more sectionsFeaturesEconomySportHuman RightsClimate CrisisInvestigationsInteractivesIn PicturesScience & TechnologyPodcastsTravelplay Live Click here to searchsearchSign upNavigation menucaret-leftDonald TrumpHow Iran war fallout may shape US electionsA visual guide to redistrictingWho is Thomas Massie?Takeaways from primary electionscaret-rightEconomy|Donald TrumpUS judge strikes down Trump’s $100,000 H1-B visa feeIn a ruling on Monday, a federal judge said the fee was a tax that Trump didn’t have authority to impose. xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoDonald Trump announced the new H1-B visa fee in September, dramatically raising the cost of obtaining the visas [File: Evan Vucci/Reuters]By ReutersPublished On 8 Jun 20268 Jun 2026A United States federal judge has struck down the $100,000 fee that US President Donald Trump imposed on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, concluding that it constituted an unlawful tax that Congress never authorised. US District Judge Leo Sorokin issued the ruling in Boston on Monday in a lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic state attorneys general challenging the fee Trump announced in September, which dramatically raised the cost of obtaining H-1B visas. The H-1B programme offers 65,000 visas annually, with another 20,000 visas for workers with advanced degrees, approved for three to six years. Employers seeking a visa for a foreign worker before Trump’s proclamation typically paid about $2,000 to $5,000 in fees, depending on various factors. The increase in fees has discouraged H-1B visa requests, according to court filings. As of February 15 , US Citizenship and Immigration Services had received just 85 payments of the $100,000 fee, the administration said in a March filing. It argued that the fee constituted a monetary penalty that the president had lawful authority to impose under federal immigration law to restrict the entry of certain foreign nationals. But Sorokin, who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama, concluded that the fee was not a penalty but a tax that the Republican president lacked any authorisation from Congress to issue. “Here, the substance and application of the $100,000 payment reveal that it is a tax, regardless of what the payment is called,” he wrote. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Advertisement AboutAboutShow moreAbout UsCode of EthicsTerms and ConditionsEU/EEA Regulatory NoticePrivacy PolicyCookie PolicyCookie PreferencesAccessibility StatementSitemapWork for usConnectConnectShow moreContact UsUser Accounts HelpAdvertise with usStay ConnectedNewslettersChannel FinderTV SchedulePodcastsSubmit a TipPaid Partner ContentOur ChannelsOur ChannelsShow moreAl Jazeera ArabicAl Jazeera EnglishAl Jazeera Investigative UnitAl Jazeera MubasherAl Jazeera DocumentaryAl Jazeera BalkansAJ+Our NetworkOur NetworkShow moreAl Jazeera Centre for StudiesAl Jazeera Media InstituteLearn ArabicAl Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human RightsAl Jazeera ForumAl Jazeera Hotel PartnersFollow Al Jazeera English: