A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration’s $100,000 charge for new H-1B visa applications was unlawful, effectively imposing an illegal tax and going beyond the president’s legal jurisdiction.
In response to a lawsuit brought by a coalition of twenty states, U. S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Massachusetts made the ruling on Monday. The charge, which President Donald Trump declared in September 2025, would have significantly raised the price of employing foreign professionals through the H-1B visa program, a vital channel utilized by tech businesses, universities, hospitals, and other employers looking for highly skilled people.
Sorokin stated in his decision that the $100,000 fine was more of a tax than a regulatory charge. The court ruled that the government lacked the authority to impose a tax via executive order since the Constitution grants Congress the power to do so, not the president.
According to states that opposed the measure, the charge would make it more difficult for businesses to recruit personnel for crucial roles and exacerbate workforce shortages in sectors like education and healthcare. Sorokin concurred, concluding that the administration had overstepped the authority granted to it by Congress.
It is expected that the Trump administration would appeal the judgment. However, for the time being, the decision prevents the fee from being implemented across the nation and brings back the prior H-1B application procedure.
