Judge Halts Trump Visa Restrictions as Appeals Court Rejects Bid to Reinstate $100,000 H-1B Fee

A federal appeals court on Friday rejected the Trump administration's request to halt a judge's order blocking enforcement of a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers. The Boston-based First US Circuit Court of Appeals delivered the legal decision, allowing the injunction against the fee to remain in place while the case proceeds.

Appeals Court Blocks Trump H-1B Visa Fee

The federal appeals court declined to put on hold a lower court judge's 8 June ruling. That initial legal decision stemmed from a formal lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic state attorneys general. The coalition of state attorneys general successfully struck down the fee on the basis that it constituted an unlawful tax Congress never authorised.

The appellate review process was handled by a three-judge panel. A three-judge panel concluded that the administration had not shown it was likely to succeed on appeal. The judges said the Trump administration failed to show it was likely on appeal to succeed in showing it had not exceeded its authority by imposing the fee.

How the H-1B Visa Programme Works

The roots of the current legal situation trace back to a proclamation issued by the US president in September. That directive formally raised the cost of obtaining H-1B visas, a legal immigration pathway which major technology companies rely on heavily to bring in foreign workers.

The H-1B programme itself operates under strict numerical limits, offering 65,000 visas annually to qualified applicants. Alongside that baseline figure, there are another 20,000 visas strictly reserved for workers with advanced degrees. Once granted, these visas are approved for durations of three to six years. Before Trump's move to increase the financial requirements, employers seeking a new work visa for a foreign worker typically paid about $2,000 to $5,000 in fees, an amount that fluctuated depending on various factors.

Financial Exemptions to the Proposed Fee Under The Trump Visa Restrictions

When imposing the new fee, Trump offered a direct rationale for the administration's approach to the immigration pathway. He stated that the H-1B programme 'has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor'.

However, the implementation of the policy includes a structural exemption. The fee does not apply to visas granted to foreign citizens already in the US on student visas. This carve-out is notable because those individuals transitioning from student visas generally make up a large share of new H-1B recipients entering the workforce.

White House Silence On H-1B Litigation Process

Due to the ongoing legal challenges and the existing exemptions, the practical impact of the September proclamation has been highly limited. Court and administrative records indicate that very few employers have paid Trump's fee since it was originally instituted.

The fee cannot currently be enforced while the appeal continues. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for official comment regarding the matter.

The appeal will continue before the First Circuit, which will later decide whether the district court correctly ruled that the fee exceeded the administration's statutory authority.