A federal judge on Monday invalidated a $100,000 fee that President Donald Trump implemented for new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, ruling that it was an illegal tax not authorized by Congress.
US District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston issued the decision in a lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic attorneys general from states challenging the fee Trump announced in September, which significantly increased the cost of obtaining H-1B visas.
The H-1B program grants 65,000 visas annually, with an additional 20,000 for workers holding advanced degrees, valid for three to six years. Before Trump’s announcement, employers typically paid around $2,000 to $5,000 in fees, depending on specific circumstances.
The fee hike has reportedly discouraged many H-1B visa applications, with filings dropping accordingly. According to government data, as of mid-February, USCIS had received just 85 payments of the $100,000 fee, the administration stated in a March report.
Supporters argued that the fee was a legitimate penalty that the president had the authority to impose under federal immigration law to control the entry of certain foreign nationals. However, Judge Sorokin, who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama, found that this fee was actually a tax, and that Trump, as a Republican, lacked congressional authorization to enact it.
“In this case, the nature and application of the $100,000 payment clearly show that it is a tax, regardless of what it is called,” Sorokin wrote.
The White House has yet to comment on the ruling.