Judge rules that new $100,000 H-1B fee is unlawful

A federal judge has struck down President Donald Trump's attempt to impose a $100,000 fee on employers hiring foreign workers in specialty occupations, ruling the charge an unauthorized tax that required an act of Congress to impose.

U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns found that the proposed payments tied to H-1B visa applications, stemming from a September 2025 presidential proclamation subsequently implemented by the State Department and Department of Homeland Security, improperly encroached on the legislative branch's taxing authority in violation of the separation of powers.

The judge in this case drew on two Supreme Court precedents: First, the decision upholding the Affordable Care Act, which characterized its individual insurance mandate as a tax; Second, the Court's more recent rejection of Trump's unilateral global tariff authority, which established that the president may only exercise taxing power when Congress has granted that authority in explicit terms.

While it is true that six months ago a federal judge in Washington, D.C. reached the opposite conclusion in a parallel suit brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, finding that Congress had in fact authorized the president to impose the $100,000 fee, this earlier ruling predated the Supreme Court's February tariff decision, which appears to have materially shaped Judge Stearns' analysis.

Because of these precedents, we are hopeful that the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court will uphold this decision. We will update you if there are any changes.