US appeals Court again blocks Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee

The Trump administration has suffered another legal setback after a US federal appeals court refused to reinstate a controversial $100,000 fee for H-1B visas, dealing a fresh blow to the administration’s immigration policy.

A three-judge panel of the First US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled that the administration had failed to demonstrate a strong likelihood of success in its appeal or prove that it had acted within its legal authority when imposing the massive fee increase.

The decision comes in a lawsuit filed by attorneys general from 20 Democratic-led states, who challenged the legality of the policy soon after it was introduced.

The appeals court’s ruling leaves in place an earlier decision issued on June 8, when a lower court declared the $100,000 H-1B visa fee unlawful. That court concluded that Congress had never granted the executive branch the authority to impose a charge of that magnitude, describing it as a tax that exceeded the administration’s legal powers.

President Donald Trump introduced the fee increase through an executive order issued last year, arguing that the H-1B visa program had been widely used by companies to replace American workers with lower-paid foreign professionals.

The administration maintained that the significantly higher fee would discourage misuse of the program and encourage employers to prioritize hiring US workers. Critics, however, argued that the measure would severely disrupt industries that rely on highly skilled international talent, particularly the technology, healthcare and engineering sectors.

Under current immigration rules, the United States issues 65,000 H-1B visas annually, along with an additional 20,000 visas for applicants holding advanced academic degrees from US institutions. The visas are generally granted for periods ranging from three to six years.

Before Trump’s proposed increase, employers typically paid between $2,000 and $5,000 in government filing fees for an H-1B visa, depending on the size of the company and other applicable charges.

The proposed $100,000 fee would not have applied to foreign nationals already in the United States on student visas who later transitioned to H-1B status.

The latest court ruling represents another significant legal obstacle for the Trump administration’s immigration agenda and ensures that the dramatic fee increase will remain suspended while the broader legal battle continues.