US Federal Judge Blocks President Trump’s $100,000 Fee For New H-1B Visas

A second federal judge on Wednesday blocked an unprecedented $100,000 fee imposed by US President Donald Trump on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers.

 

US District Judge Haywood Gilliam in Oakland, California, ruled that US Citizenship and Immigration Services and the State Department failed to follow necessary rule-making procedures before implementing the fee.

 

Gilliam, who was appointed by then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat, granted a request by a coalition of unions, employers and non-profit organisations to block the agencies from implementing the fee pending the outcome of a lawsuit they filed in October.

 

The fee was temporarily blocked in June by a federal judge in Boston in a separate case brought by 20 states. A Boston-based appeals court in July declined to pause that decision.

 

The Department of Homeland Security in August moved to adopt a permanent fee of about $103,000 that, when finalised, will likely face a legal challenge. That case would involve different legal issues from the lawsuits over Trump’s fee, which have focused on the president’s authority to impose such a charge unilaterally.

 

The $100,000 fee was originally set to expire on September 21, but Trump recently extended it for another year. The extension runs through September 21, 2027, although the fee is currently not being collected because of the court orders.

 

Democracy Forward, a left-leaning legal group representing the plaintiffs, welcomed the ruling in a statement. “Today’s decision ... protects a system that was thrown into chaos overnight,” said Steve Bressler, a lawyer with the group.

 

The US Chamber of Commerce, the country’s largest business lobbying group, has filed a third lawsuit challenging the fee. The chamber is appealing a judge’s decision rejecting its claims that Trump lacked authority to impose the charge.

 

The H-1B programme allows US employers to hire foreign workers with training in specialised fields. Technology companies in particular rely heavily on workers who receive H-1B visas.

 

The programme provides 65,000 visas annually, with another 20,000 available to workers with advanced degrees. Visas are generally approved for periods of three to six years.

 

Trump’s order sharply increased the cost of obtaining H-1B visas, which had typically involved fees of about $2,000 to $5,000, depending on various factors.

 

In imposing the fee, Trump invoked the president’s power under federal immigration law to restrict the entry of certain foreign nationals whose admission would be detrimental to US interests. He has said businesses abused the H-1B programme and replaced American workers with cheaper foreign labour.

 

The Trump administration has also ordered enhanced vetting of H-1B applicants and proposed a new visa selection process that would favour higher-skilled and better-paid workers.