Federal Judge Strikes Down Trump's $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee as Unconstitutional Tax
U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston vacated the Trump administration's $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, ruling it an unconstitutional tax that Congress never authorized. The fee, imposed via presidential proclamation in September 2025, raised costs from a previous range of roughly $2,000–$5,000 and had been challenged by a coalition of 20 state attorneys general. The ruling creates a direct conflict with an earlier federal court in Washington, D.C., that had upheld the fee, setting the stage for appellate battles and a potential Supreme Court showdown.
Judge Leo Sorokin of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a 42-page ruling on June 8, 2026, vacating in its entirety the Trump administration's policy requiring employers to pay $100,000 per new H-1B visa petition. Sorokin concluded that the payment functioned as a tax rather than a permissible immigration restriction, and that neither the Immigration and Nationality Act nor any other statute delegated Congress's exclusive taxing power to the executive branch. He drew explicitly on the Supreme Court's February 2026 decision striking down Trump's emergency tariffs, which held that broad executive authority to 'regulate' does not encompass the power to tax. Beyond the constitutional defect, Sorokin also found the policy violated the Administrative Procedure Act because it was implemented without notice-and-comment rulemaking and exceeded the fee-setting authority Congress delegated to agencies. The ruling contradicts a December 2025 decision by U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., who declined to block the fee in a separate suit by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and a third lawsuit is pending in San Francisco, creating the possibility of a circuit split. The Trump administration announced it would appeal, with the White House asserting the president has clear legal authority to restrict entry of any class of aliens. H-1B visas, capped at 65,000 annually plus 20,000 for advanced-degree holders, are heavily used by the technology sector, with Indian nationals accounting for approximately 73% of approvals in recent years according to Pew Research Center data.
Data: US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
What's missing
The sources do not clarify the precise procedural effect of Monday's nationwide vacatur on the roughly 85 payments already made under the $100,000 fee, nor whether those employers are entitled to refunds. Additionally, the timeline and procedural posture of the parallel San Francisco lawsuit—including which circuit it would reach on appeal—is not detailed in any source.
How coverage differed
Fox News and the Daily Wire framed the ruling primarily through the lens of judicial resistance to Trump's agenda, emphasizing the judge's Obama appointment and characterizing the policy as protecting American workers, while center and left-leaning outlets focused more on the constitutional and statutory reasoning and the practical impacts on schools, hospitals, and tech employers.
What different sources said
- CNBCCenter
Judge blocks Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee
- Fox NewsRight
Federal judge strikes down Trump’s $100K H-1B visa fee, ruling it an unconstitutional tax
- Hindustan TimesCenter
‘Americans want an H-1B pause’: US Senator Mike Lee after legal rebuke to Trump's $100,000 fee | Hindustan Times
- The HinduCenter
Indian diaspora groups welcome court ruling striking down $100,000 H-1B visa fee
- PBS NewsHourLeft
What to know about Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee, and the legal rebuke that followed
Judge Throws Out Trump Administration’s Policy Imposing $100,000 Fees for H-1B Visas
- The IndependentLeft
Judge strikes down Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee
- ReasonRight
Federal Court Invalidates Trump's $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee as Ilegal Usurpation of Congress' Power to Tax
- Times of IndiaCenter
Ex-Meta employee celebrates court crackdown on $100K H-1B fee proposal
- NDTVCenter
Explained: Trump's $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee And Court Decision That Junked It
- CBS NewsCenter
Judge voids Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee
- ABC NewsCenter
Federal judge blocks Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee
- DawnCenter
US judge blocks Trump’s $100,000 fee for H-1B visas
- The HillCenter
Trump on judge striking down $100K H-1B visa fee: 'They are giving us a very, very hard time'
- Business InsiderLeft
I'm a lawyer who couldn't pay $100k for H-1B workers. Opportunities could open up again now the fee has been scrapped.
- Roll CallCenter
Judge halts Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee
- The Japan TimesCenter
Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee is unlawful, U.S. judge rules
- Daily WireRight
Judge Blocks Trump’s Attempt To Rein In H-1B Visa Program
- FortuneCenter
Trump’s $100,000 visa fee is dead in one court and alive in another, setting up Supreme Court brawl
Related
CIS Study: Non-Citizen Households Use Welfare at Higher Rates Than U.S.-Born Households in Nearly Every State
A new analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies found that 47% of non-citizen-headed households used at least one means-tested welfare program, compared to 28% of U.S.-born-headed households. The study drew on five years of Census Bureau data and found the gap persisted across nearly every state, with the largest disparities in New York, Massachusetts, and California. The findings reignite a long-running debate over immigration and public benefit usage, though the methodology has been contested by other researchers.
Pilot Killed in Small Plane Crash Near Twin Oaks Airpark in Washington County, Oregon
A small two-seater experimental plane crashed into a grassy field near Twin Oaks Airpark in Hillsboro, Oregon on Friday afternoon, killing its sole occupant. The crash occurred during takeoff and sparked a grass fire that spread to a nearby field before firefighters contained it. The NTSB and FAA are investigating the cause, and flights at the airpark were canceled for the remainder of the day.
Ohio Police Chief Arrested in Florida on 70-Count Child Sex Indictment
Bethel Police Chief Chad Essert, 44, was arrested Tuesday night in Seminole, Florida, following a Clermont County grand jury indictment on 56 counts of sexual battery and 14 counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. The alleged offenses occurred between 2005 and 2010, when Essert was an instructor with the Young Marines program and a teacher at Scarlet Oaks Career Campus in Sharonville, Ohio. If convicted on all counts, Essert faces a maximum of 280 years in prison, and authorities are urging any additional potential victims to come forward.