H-1B Visa Fee Ruling Paused: $100,000 Fee Back in Effect
A federal court has put its own ruling against the Trump administration's controversial H-1B visa fee on hold, meaning the $100,000 charge is once again enforceable while the case heads to an appeals court.
What changed
US District Judge Leo T. Sorokin in Boston had ruled on June 8 that the administration's H-1B visa fee was unlawful, siding with a coalition of states that argued the $100,000 charge amounted to an illegal tax rather than a legitimate regulatory fee. The ruling effectively vacated the fee requirement and was seen as a major setback for the White House's broader push to restrict the H-1B visa program.
That win for challengers didn't last long. On June 12, the Trump administration asked the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts to stay its own order while the case is appealed. The court declined the initial request for a full stay but granted a narrower, alternative version: an administrative stay that pauses the June 8 ruling until the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit decides whether to extend that pause through the appeals process. The administration must file its motion with the First Circuit by Thursday, June 18.
The practical result: until the First Circuit rules, US Citizenship and Immigration Services can once again enforce the H-1B visa fee, putting employers and prospective visa holders back in a state of uncertainty.
Why Does the USCIS Fee Exist in the First Place
The dispute traces back to a presidential proclamation last year that added a $100,000 charge for employers sponsoring new H-1B visa petitions. The administration framed the fee as a way to discourage companies from using the H-1B visa program to undercut American workers with cheaper foreign labor. Critics, including unions, employers, religious groups, and a coalition of states, argued the fee was an attempt to gut a program that fills genuine skill gaps, particularly in fields like medicine, teaching, and technology, by making it prohibitively expensive.
The H-1B visa fee case isn't happening in isolation. It's one of at least three active lawsuits challenging the policy. The US Chamber of Commerce and a nurse-recruiting firm are pursuing separate legal challenges; the Chamber's request to block the fee was rejected back in December, and that case is now also before a federal appeals court in Washington.
What Happens Next
The Justice Department has formally filed notice that it will appeal the original ruling striking down the H-1B visa fee, setting up a fight at the First Circuit that will determine whether the administrative stay continues and, ultimately, whether the $100,000 USCIS fee survives in its current form. Until there's a ruling from the appeals court, employers should assume the fee is active and enforceable.
The case is State of California v. Mullin, No. 25-cv-13829, in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
This is a developing legal situation. If you're an employer or visa applicant directly affected by the H-1B visa fee, it's worth checking with immigration counsel before filing, given how quickly the enforceability status has shifted over the past two weeks.