Federal court rules administration lacked congressional authority to impose six-figure charge on skilled-worker visas, setting up a likely appeal over the limits of presidential immigration powers.

BOSTON — A federal judge on Monday struck down President Donald Trump’s $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, ruling that the administration lacked authority to impose the charge without congressional approval and marking a significant legal setback for one of its most consequential immigration policies affecting highly skilled foreign workers.

U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin of Massachusetts found that the fee functioned as an unauthorized tax rather than a permissible immigration restriction. The decision came in a lawsuit brought by a coalition of 20 Democratic state attorneys general challenging the policy, which was announced in September 2025 and applied to new H-1B visa petitions.

The H-1B program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign professionals in specialty occupations requiring specialized knowledge and expertise, including positions in technology, engineering, health care, education and scientific research. The program is capped at 65,000 visas annually, with an additional 20,000 available for workers who hold advanced degrees from U.S. institutions.

The administration argued that the president possessed broad authority under federal immigration law to restrict the entry of foreign nationals when deemed in the national interest. Sorokin rejected that argument, finding that Congress had not authorized the executive branch to impose a six-figure charge as a condition of visa issuance.

The ruling removes, for now, a major financial hurdle that critics said would have fundamentally altered the economics of the H-1B program. State officials, universities, hospitals and employers had argued that the fee would make it substantially more difficult to recruit specialized workers and could worsen labor shortages in sectors that depend on highly skilled talent.

For decades, employers have used the H-1B program to fill positions in industries facing shortages of qualified workers. Existing government filing fees generally amount to several thousand dollars, making the proposed $100,000 charge a dramatic departure from longstanding practice.

The ruling affects foreign professionals and U.S. employers in health care, engineering, information technology and academic research, where the H-1B remains a major legal work-visa route.

The administration is expected to appeal, leaving higher courts to decide the policy’s future and the broader question of how far a president may go in reshaping immigration rules without Congress.