Judge blocks Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee (opens in new tab)

A federal judge in Massachusetts on Monday struck down President Trump’s $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions, ruling that the charge was an unlawful tax that Congress had not authorized. U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin sided with 20 state attorneys general challenging the September 2025 proclamation and found that the policy violated the Administrative Procedure Act and exceeded the president’s authority under immigration law. The Trump administration defended the fee as a lawful penalty ...