In a blow to the administration’s effort to curb temporary high-skilled immigration, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that President Trump exceeded his authority by imposing an additional $100,000 fee on every new H-1B petition. The fee—announced in a September 2025 proclamation—had drawn lawsuits from a coalition of 20 states and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Judge Eleanor Roberts held that the surcharge functions as a tax, a power reserved for Congress, and violates the Administrative Procedure Act because it was enacted without notice-and-comment rulemaking.
![Federal judge strikes down Trump administration’s $100 000 H-1B surcharge]()
For employers and foreign professionals navigating these shifting rules, VisaHQ offers comprehensive visa processing support and real-time policy updates. The platform’s dedicated H-1B and employment-based immigration tools—available at https://www.visahq.com/united-states/—can streamline petition preparation, flag emerging fees, and help companies stay compliant amid rapid regulatory change.
Effective immediately, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) must stop collecting the fee, though the government is expected to appeal. Employers had braced for a 2027 budgeting cycle that assumed the surcharge, which would have raised total first-year H-1B costs to roughly $109,000 per employee. Multinationals in IT services and pharmaceuticals welcomed the ruling; several told FYI Science Policy that they will reinstate paused hiring plans for FY 2027 cap season now that cost projections normalize. The decision also questions the durability of other fee-based executive actions, including the newly proposed $25,000 “priority processing” levy for L-1s. Mobility managers should track the appeal and be prepared for retroactive refunds or, conversely, for a reinstatement if the First Circuit reverses.
For employers and foreign professionals navigating these shifting rules, VisaHQ offers comprehensive visa processing support and real-time policy updates. The platform’s dedicated H-1B and employment-based immigration tools—available at https://www.visahq.com/united-states/—can streamline petition preparation, flag emerging fees, and help companies stay compliant amid rapid regulatory change.
Effective immediately, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) must stop collecting the fee, though the government is expected to appeal. Employers had braced for a 2027 budgeting cycle that assumed the surcharge, which would have raised total first-year H-1B costs to roughly $109,000 per employee. Multinationals in IT services and pharmaceuticals welcomed the ruling; several told FYI Science Policy that they will reinstate paused hiring plans for FY 2027 cap season now that cost projections normalize. The decision also questions the durability of other fee-based executive actions, including the newly proposed $25,000 “priority processing” levy for L-1s. Mobility managers should track the appeal and be prepared for retroactive refunds or, conversely, for a reinstatement if the First Circuit reverses.
