Trump's USD 100,000 H-1B visa fee struck down as unlawful tax
Dhaka: A federal judge has struck down a USD 100,000 fee that U.S. President Donald Trump imposed on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, ruling it constituted an unlawful tax that Congress never authorized.
U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston issued the ruling on June 8. The lawsuit was filed by 20 Democratic state attorneys general challenging a fee Trump announced in September that dramatically raised the cost of obtaining H-1B visas, which tech companies heavily rely on to hire foreign workers.
The Trump administration argued the fee was a lawful monetary penalty the president was authorized to impose under federal immigration law. The law grants him the power to restrict the entry of certain foreign nationals when he deems it "detrimental to the interests of the United States."
Sorokin, however, concluded the fee was a tax, not a penalty — one Trump had no congressional authorization to levy. He also ruled that the U.S. State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services could not implement the charge.
"Here, the substance and application of the USD 100,000 payment reveal that it is a tax, regardless of what the payment is called," Sorokin wrote. The judge was appointed by former Democratic President Barack Obama.
Sorokin cited the U.S. Supreme Court's February ruling that struck down Trump's sweeping tariffs pursued under a law meant for national emergencies. Applying similar logic, he concluded Trump lacked authority under immigration law to impose such a tax.
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said the administration is confident the ruling will be reversed on appeal. "President Trump has clear legal authority to restrict entry of any class of aliens he determines is not in America's best interests, and that is exactly what he did," she said.
The H-1B program issues 65,000 visas annually, with an additional 20,000 reserved for workers with advanced degrees. Visas are approved for three to six years. Before Trump's proclamation, employers typically paid USD 2,000 to 5,000 in fees.
Trump said in a proclamation that the H-1B program has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor. The fee does not apply to foreign nationals already in the United States on student visas, who make up a large share of new H-1B recipients.
Despite the fee's introduction, few employers have paid it. As of February 15, USCIS had received just 85 payments, according to an agency official.
The USD 100,000 fee has triggered at least three separate lawsuits. Among them, a case filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is on appeal after a Washington, D.C., judge rejected its challenge in December.
The Trump administration has also ordered enhanced vetting of H-1B applicants and proposed a revised selection process aimed at favoring higher-skilled and better-paid workers.
