Federal Court strikes down Donald Trump's $100,000 fee for H-1B Visa

Washington : The POTUS, Donald Trump, receieved another blow from the Federal Court after it struck down his move to impose $100,000 fee on H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers. The court called it an unlawful act.

The ruling came after a lawsuit was filed by 20 Democratic state attorneys general challenging the fee Donald Trump announced in September last year.

The H-1B visa program allows 65,000 visas each year, along with an additional 20,000 visas for people with advanced degrees. These visas are usually granted for three to six years. Earlier, employers had to pay around $2,000 to $5,000 to sponsor a foreign worker under this program.

The sharp increase in fees has reduced the number of H-1B visa applications, according to court documents filed by the administration. As of February 15, only 85 employers had paid the new $100,000 fee, the administration said in March.

Data released by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) last month showed a significant decline in H-1B registrations. Properly submitted applications dropped by 38.5 per cent, from 343,981 in fiscal year 2026 to 211,600 in fiscal year 2027. 

The administration argued that the fee was a legal financial penalty that the US President had the authority to impose under federal immigration laws to limit the entry of foreign workers.

However, the court disagreed.

The court said that the President cannot impose a tax unless Congress has specifically given that authority through a law. It found that the policy effectively imposed a tax on H-1B visa applications without approval from Congress. Therefore, the court declared the policy unlawful and cancelled it completely.