Federal appeals court delivers legal setback to the Trump admin on the president’s H-1B visa program
A federal appeals court on July 24, 2026, rejected the Trump administration‘s request to reinstate a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, marking another legal setback in the president’s effort to reshape the high-skilled foreign worker program.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit declined to pause a June 8 ruling by U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin of the District of Massachusetts, who blocked the fee in a lawsuit brought by 20 Democratic state attorneys general.
A three-judge panel denied the administration’s request, finding that the government had not shown it was likely to succeed in its appeal.
The decision means U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the State Department cannot collect the $100,000 charge on qualifying H-1B petitions while the broader legal fight continues.
What the court found
The First Circuit concluded that the administration failed to demonstrate a strong likelihood of winning its appeal.
The Trump administration argued in a June 12 motion that the fee was a lawful exercise of presidential authority over immigration and foreign commerce. The appeals court rejected that argument, leaving intact Sorokin’s finding that the charge operated as an unauthorized tax.
The ruling followed a brief procedural pause after Sorokin’s decision. The district court temporarily allowed the government to continue collecting the fee while the administration sought emergency relief from the First Circuit. The July 24 order ended that pause and restored the block.
The President’s original justification
Donald Trump signed Proclamation 10973, titled “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers,” on September 19, 2025.
In the proclamation, Trump argued that the H-1B program was intended for temporary, high-skilled workers but had been exploited by companies to replace American employees with lower-paid foreign labor. He said widespread misuse of the program threatened economic and national security and justified imposing higher costs on employers.
A White House fact sheet released alongside the proclamation claimed that U.S. technology companies were “laying off their American technology workers and seemingly replacing them with H-1B workers.”
The fact sheet cited an increase in the share of H-1B workers employed in the information technology sector, rising from about 32 percent in 2003 to more than 65 percent in recent years.
Why the case matters
The legal dispute centers on whether a president can impose a fee of this size on a federal visa program without explicit approval from Congress.
Judge Sorokin ruled that the $100,000 charge functioned as a tax rather than a regulatory fee. Under the Constitution, Congress holds the power to levy taxes and establish immigration policy.
Twenty states, led by California, challenged the fee, arguing that the administration exceeded presidential authority by imposing the charge without congressional approval.
Financial stakes for employers
Before the proclamation, employers generally paid between $2,000 and $5,000 to obtain H-1B visas.
Congress limits the program to 65,000 regular visas annually, with an additional 20,000 available for workers holding advanced degrees.
The $100,000 fee took effect on September 21, 2025 and applied only to new H-1B petitions involving workers subject to consular processing — meaning applicants seeking visas from outside the United States.
The fee did not apply to foreign nationals already in the U.S., including many international students transitioning from student visas to H-1B status.
What comes next
The First Circuit’s July 24 decision was procedural and did not resolve the underlying appeal.
The Trump administration can continue fighting the case before the appeals court, which will eventually decide the broader legal questions surrounding the fee. If the administration loses, it could ask the Supreme Court to review the case, though the justices are not required to take it.