A federal judge has struck down one of the Trump administration’s most aggressive attempts to reshape the H-1B visa program, ruling that a proposed $100,000 fee on new visa applications amounted to an unauthorized tax that exceeded presidential authority.
The decision, issued Monday by U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin, blocks a September 2025 proclamation signed by President Donald Trump that dramatically increased the cost for employers seeking to hire foreign workers through the H-1B visa system.
The administration argued the fee increase was necessary to discourage what it described as the large-scale replacement of American workers, strengthen national security, and improve employment opportunities for U.S. citizens.
Judge Sorokin disagreed.
In his ruling, the Massachusetts-based federal judge concluded that the six-figure charge was not simply an administrative fee but functioned as a tax. Because Congress never explicitly granted the president authority to impose such a tax through the Immigration and Nationality Act, Sorokin found the proclamation unlawful.
“The substance and application of the $100,000 payment reveal that it is a tax,” Sorokin wrote.
The judge further concluded that the administration failed to demonstrate that Congress had delegated taxing authority to the executive branch in this area.
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://t.co/bQXFTaiMmK pic.twitter.com/g5HTy9Cu0X
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) June 8, 2026
As a result, he ruled that the fee violated both federal immigration law and the Administrative Procedure Act, effectively invalidating the policy.
The lawsuit challenging the proclamation was brought by a coalition of 20 states, including California, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Oregon. Those states argued that the administration’s massive fee increase was less a regulatory measure and more an attempt to impose a new tax without congressional approval.
Before Trump’s proclamation, H-1B application costs generally ranged from approximately $2,000 to $5,000 depending on the size of the employer and other factors. The proposed increase would have represented one of the most dramatic changes ever imposed on the program.
The H-1B visa system remains one of the most heavily debated components of U.S. immigration policy.
Supporters argue it allows American companies to recruit highly skilled workers in specialized fields such as engineering, software development, artificial intelligence, and semiconductor manufacturing. Critics contend that some employers use the program to suppress wages or replace American workers with less expensive foreign labor.
Major technology companies have historically been among the largest users of H-1B visas. According to reports, firms such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta ranked among the top recipients of approved H-1B petitions during fiscal year 2025.
Interestingly, Trump’s position on the program evolved during his second term.
While he previously criticized aspects of the visa system, the president acknowledged in late 2025 that certain industries, particularly advanced manufacturing and semiconductor production, require highly skilled workers that are not always readily available in the domestic labor market.
“We need more people,” Trump said at the time, pointing specifically to the workforce demands associated with microchip production and other high-tech sectors.
The ruling represents another example of federal courts scrutinizing executive actions that attempt to make sweeping policy changes without direct congressional authorization. While presidents have broad authority over immigration enforcement and administration, courts have repeatedly drawn distinctions between regulatory actions and measures that effectively create new taxes or fees beyond what Congress approved.
Anthropic, OpenAI, and Nvidia ramp up H-1B visa applications, underscoring the fierce competition for skilled foreign workers. https://t.co/lppv7Nx8KG
— Business Insider (@BusinessInsider) June 8, 2026
Judge Sorokin, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Barack Obama in 2013, has served on the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts for more than a decade. A graduate of Yale College and Columbia Law School, he now finds himself at the center of another legal clash involving one of the Trump administration’s signature immigration initiatives.
For now, employers seeking H-1B visas will continue operating under the existing fee structure unless Congress acts or a higher court overturns the ruling. The administration has not yet announced whether it intends to appeal.
