In a major blow to the Donald Trump administration and its plans to make the H-1B visa program costlier, a federal judge declared that the $100,000 fee that US President Donald Trump has imposed on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers is illegal and should be invalidated. U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston ruled in a lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic state attorneys general challenging the fees announced by Trump in September that dramatically increased the cost of obtaining H-1B visas. DHS has not commented on the decision, but the administration can appeal the decision and may also appeal the hold.
Here’s a timeline H-1B Visa Fee Controversy
19 September 2025
- President Donald Trump signed a presidential proclamation titled “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers”.
- The proclamation imposed a $100,000 fee for new H-1B petitions, one of the most significant changes ever made to the H-1B program.
20 September 2025
- USCIS released implementation guidance explaining how the fee will work.
- The agency clarified that the fee will apply only to certain new H-1B petitions filed after the effective date, not to petitions already approved or filed before the rule took effect.
21 September 2025
- The $100,000 charge officially took effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time.
- The White House said the fee will begin to apply to new H-1B petitions submitted after that date, including those filed under future lottery cycles.
September-October 2025
- There remains confusion over whether the fees apply to existing H-1B holders, renewals, extensions, transfers, and foreign travel.
- The White House clarified: This fee was a one-time petition fee, not an annual fee.
Current H-1B holders were generally unaffected.
Visa renewals and extensions were not the primary target of this measure.
October 20-23, 2025
- USCIS issued further guidance limiting the scope.
- The agency clarified that the fee primarily applies to:
New H-1B petitions, including consular processing, and
Beneficiaries outside the US without a valid H-1B visa.
Petitions for extension, amendment and change of status were generally exempt.
March-April 2026
- The FY 2027 H-1B cap season becomes the first major lottery cycle affected by the new fee structure.
- Employers sponsoring some new foreign hires faced significantly higher costs.
June 2026
- DHS Secretary Markway Mullin told lawmakers that more than 200,000 applicants had paid the $100,000 fee through fiscal year 2026.
- He also indicated that DHS has the authority to grant waivers in limited circumstances.
June 3-8, 2026A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration’s $100,000 H-1B fee was unlawful, striking down the policy.