Judge scraps $100,000 H-1B fee, but uncertainty lingers

scrapped $100,000 – A federal ruling struck down the $100,000 H-1B fee on Monday, a change that helped small law firms and employers who said the cost was impossible to justify. Still, the Trump administration can appeal, other court fights continue, and potential Supreme Court r

When the federal ruling hit on Monday, Hung-Lin Lai didn’t just see a legal win—he felt a financial one.

Lai, 34, is CEO of Lai & Turner Law Firm PLLC and lives in Oklahoma. As he said he prepared to sponsor more foreign workers. he described the $100. 000 H-1B fee as something many smaller employers simply can’t absorb. In his view. when the fee was still in effect. it pushed hiring decisions into a question of basic math: whether a company would rather invest $100. 000 into its own growth or send that money to the government for the chance to recruit abroad.

He also said the timing mattered. Many lawyers had expected the ruling based on a previous Supreme Court decision that struck down Trump’s tariffs. Lai said he had felt the administration’s immigration move was similarly bypassing regular lawmaking—so he believed it was unlikely to remain in place.

Yet even with the fee scrapped, the fight isn’t over.

The Trump administration can appeal Monday’s decision. and other legal challenges to the H-1B fee are still working their way through the courts. Judges could uphold the ruling or reverse it. creating what’s called a “circuit split.” If that happens. the issue could eventually head to the Supreme Court.

For employers who have been watching the fee like a fuse, that uncertainty is the hardest part. Lai said one prospective client abandoned sponsoring an H-1B worker after learning the fee would be required. He framed the reaction as a common stance among business owners: they’d rather put $100. 000 toward building their own company than paying it to the government.

His own hiring timing gave him a head start. Lai said he was “lucky” to hire someone on an H-1B visa before the $100,000 fee came into effect. But he wants to sponsor more people who are abroad.

Earlier this year, he entered a virtual staff member into the lottery. He told her that if she were selected and the $100. 000 fee was still in place. he wouldn’t be able to pay that amount. Lai said she hasn’t been selected. so that particular decision point didn’t land—but the new ruling made him more willing to sponsor foreign team members in the future.

That willingness comes with conditions. Lai warned that Monday’s decision does not change last year’s lottery system changes that favor applicants with a higher wage. He said this means he may have to submit an application in a higher wage tier to give candidates a better chance of selection.

He is also still talking with colleagues about what Monday’s ruling means for applicants in the 2027 fiscal year—specifically whether the $100. 000 fee could still apply to those lottery entries. He said the current $100,000 fee is no longer required for current applications. In his view, the ruling’s impact may show up in the next year’s lottery.

If the fee continues to not apply, Lai said he expects an uptick in petitions from small and medium-sized businesses like his—employers who want to recruit and hire foreign talent rather than competing only on cost with large companies such as Amazon and Facebook.

The Department of Homeland Security, through a spokesperson, rejected the ruling. The spokesperson called it “blatant judicial activism.” The spokesperson also said the recent changes to the H-1B visa program. including the increased fee. were intended to address concerns about program integrity and the impact on the U.S. workforce, adding that the policy aims to ensure employers prioritize hiring U.S. workers in high-skilled fields. The spokesperson said the Trump Administration remains committed to safeguarding opportunities for American workers and maintaining the integrity of employment-based visa programs.

A businessman’s calendar doesn’t pause for court schedules. Lai’s own next steps—how he sizes future sponsorship plans, what wage tier he might submit, and whether he’ll be able to act on 2027 lottery outcomes—depend on whether Monday’s decision holds up under appeal.

For now, the fee is off the table for current applications. But the question that will shape planning for future hiring is still unresolved: what happens after appeals. other legal challenges. and potentially a Supreme Court decision—decisions that could determine whether small employers get a sustainable opening to bring in foreign talent. or whether the cost returns in a new form.

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