A federal judge in Boston has blocked the Trump administration's requirement of a $100,000 fee for H-1B visas, ruling that the executive branch exceeded its authority and violated the Administrative Procedure Act by attempting to impose what the judge characterized as a tax without congressional delegation. US District Court Judge Leo Sorokin sided with 20 states, including New York, which argued that the steep fee, significantly increased from the standard amount, would hinder their ability to hire essential workers like doctors and teachers, particularly in rural areas, and would negatively impact academic research and medical staffing. The policy, intended to reduce foreign workers taking American jobs, had already led to a drastic drop in applications, with only 85 of the high-fee payments received by February 15th, and the administration is expected to appeal the decision.

A federal judge in Boston has blocked the Trump administration's requirement of a $100,000 fee for H-1B visas, ruling that the executive branch exceeded its authority and violated the Administrative Procedure Act by attempting to impose what the judge characterized as a tax without congressional delegation. US District Court Judge Leo Sorokin sided with 20 states, including New York, which argued that the steep fee, significantly increased from the standard amount, would hinder their ability to hire essential workers like doctors and teachers, particularly in rural areas, and would negatively impact academic research and medical staffing. The policy, intended to reduce foreign workers taking American jobs, had already led to a drastic drop in applications, with only 85 of the high-fee payments received by February 15th, and the administration is expected to appeal the decision.

A federal judge in Boston has blocked the Trump administration's requirement of a $100,000 fee for H-1B visas, ruling that the executive branch exceeded its authority and violated the Administrative Procedure Act by attempting to impose what the judge characterized as a tax without congressional delegation. US District Court Judge Leo Sorokin sided with 20 states, including New York, which argued that the steep fee, significantly increased from the standard amount, would hinder their ability to hire essential workers like doctors and teachers, particularly in rural areas, and would negatively impact academic research and medical staffing. The policy, intended to reduce foreign workers taking American jobs, had already led to a drastic drop in applications, with only 85 of the high-fee payments received by February 15th, and the administration is expected to appeal the decision.

A federal judge in the US has blocked the $100,000 fee requirement for H-1B visas imposed by the Trump administration in September 2025.

The administration had introduced the high fees as a way of preventing foreign workers from taking up American jobs.

US District Court judge Leo Sorokin in Boston sided with 20 states and struck down the visa policy on Monday.

The court concluded that the executive branch exceeded its authority and violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose state was one of the 20 that sued to block the fee, said, “Every day, thousands of people with H-1B visas serve New Yorkers as doctors, teachers, and other skilled workers.”

“Today a court put an end to this administration’s illegal attempt to destroy this critical program and the many jobs it makes possible,” James said.

Sorokin, meanwhile, said that the “the substance and application of the $100,000 payment reveal that it is a tax” and that Congress had not delegated that power to the executive branch.

“The President had no power or delegated authority to impose a tax on H-1B petitions,” Sorokin, the Boston-based judge who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, wrote in a 42-page decision striking down the policy.

"Many school districts in rural and remote parts of the state rely on the H-1B visa programme to bring quality teachers to their communities," said Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska.

About 65,000 visas are issued annually, and another 20,000 visas are issued for workers with advanced degrees, which are approved for three to six years under the H-1B programme.

Technology companies are the most reliant on workers with H-1B visas, with about three-quarters of approvals going to workers from India.

The states that sued the decision argued that using the H-1B program to fill vacancies for much-needed doctors and teachers was already difficult before the higher fee.

In the Boston case, the states argued that the policy prevented them from hiring primary and secondary school educators and staffing public colleges and universities, would stymie academic research and would lead to a decline in medical workers.

Trump increased the standard $2000 to $5000 paid by employers to $100,000. After the increment in fees, the number of applications for the visa saw a drastic drop.

As of February 15, the U.S. Citizenship and immigration Services received just 85 payments of the $100,000 fee.

Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman “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.”

“The H-1B program has been abused for decades, and President Trump finally took action to fix it.”

The Trump administration is expected to appeal the Boston judges' ruling.

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