TL;DRA federal judge struck down Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee as an unlawful tax, ruling the president cannot levy taxes without congressional authorisation. The decision is a reprieve for tech companies but the government is expected to appeal.
US District Judge Leo T. Sorokin in Massachusetts ruled on Monday that the $100,000 fee President Donald Trump imposed on H-1B visa applications is an unlawful tax and must be vacated. The ruling found that the proclamation violated both the federal Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution, because Congress had not delegated the power to levy such a tax to the executive branch.
Trump signed the proclamation last September, adding the fee on top of existing application costs that already run to several thousand dollars. Administration officials framed it as an incentive for companies to hire Americans instead of importing foreign workers.
What the fee did
The $100,000 charge applied to new H-1B applications and was generally paid by the sponsoring employer. Immigration lawyers warned at the time that it would effectively turn the H-1B into a luxury work permit, accessible only to the wealthiest corporations and highest-paid workers.
