Trump $100,000 – A federal judge struck down President Donald Trump’s policy imposing a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, ruling it was an unlawful tax Congress never authorized. The decision came in a lawsuit brought by nearly two dozen Democratic state attorneys general.
For the tech industry and universities that rely on the H-1B visa program, the cost of hiring foreign skilled workers just got a jolt of certainty—and relief. On Monday, June 8, a U.S. District Court judge blocked President Donald Trump’s policy imposing a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas.
Judge Leo Sorokin issued the ruling in Boston, vacating the policy in full. The decision directly struck at a centerpiece change announced in September, when the president said the specialized work visas would carry dramatically higher costs.
Sorokin ruled that the fee was unlawful. In a 42-page opinion, he wrote: “The Policy implementing the Proclamation is declared unlawful and is vacated in its entirety.”
The case was brought by 20 Democratic state attorneys general—nearly two dozen in total—who challenged the fee as something more than a regulation. Their position was that the charge functioned like a tax that Congress never authorized.
The fee had been part of a wider effort to shift employment incentives toward U.S. citizens over foreign workers. It landed amid the Trump administration’s broader immigration push. including central reforms and a deportation crackdown. themes that have also served as key elements of the president’s 2024 campaign.
The lawsuit put the government’s authority in the spotlight: whether the administration could effectively reshape the economics of H-1B hiring through a policy that operated like a new and extremely expensive barrier. Sorokin’s ruling answered that question by removing the policy entirely—“in its entirety”—rather than narrowing it.
By Monday’s end, the legal pressure was no longer theoretical. The policy was struck down. leaving employers and universities waiting for what comes next: whether the administration will seek further review and how quickly the H-1B application process will adjust for companies that count on foreign talent.
White House officials did not immediately provide a response in the record of the ruling, and the White House was reached for comment.
H-1B visa fee Donald Trump Leo Sorokin immigration policy tech sector universities state attorneys general federal court ruling work visas labor market
So he wanted a $100k fee on H-1B like that’s just a normal thing?? Good it got blocked.
I don’t get it, isn’t H-1B already expensive? Like the fee is the whole point of visas right? Judge said “unlawful tax” which sounds like tax-speak to me.
Wait so this means more foreign workers can come in cheaper again? I’m all for jobs but then it’s like… who’s protecting American workers? Also H-1B always gets political and I can’t follow all the legal stuff.
Judge blocked it in Boston, so what happens now—another judge just overrides it next week? It says “vacated in its entirety” but I swear they’ll appeal and bring it back, or some new fee will pop up with a different name. Meanwhile tech companies will act like it’s a win and universities will shrug like nothing happened.