US lawmakers welcome court order scrapping USD 100,000 H-1B visa fee
The H-1B program offers 65,000 visas annually, with another 20,000 visas for workers with advanced degrees, approved for three to six years.
The Trump administration moved to tighten visa rules for international students, foreign journalists and cultural exchange visitors.(Photo: AP) A US federal judge has struck down a $100,000 fee imposed by President Donald Trump on new H-1B visas, ruling that the charge was unlawful, Reuters reported.
US District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston said the fee amounted to a tax, which the president did not have the authority to introduce without approval from Congress.
What did the judge say?
“Here, the substance and application of the $100,000 payment reveal that it is a tax, regardless of what the payment is called,” Sorokin wrote, according to Reuters.
The case was brought by 20 Democratic state attorneys general who challenged the fee announced by Trump in September.
The administration had argued that the charge was a penalty allowed under immigration law, which gives the president powers to restrict entry of foreign nationals in certain cases. But the judge rejected that argument and said federal agencies could not enforce the fee.
US H-1B Visa Fee Hike: The Chamber’s complaint underlines that while the president has authority over entry of noncitizens that authority is bound by statute and cannot directly contradict laws passed by Congress. (File Photo/ Representational)
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