Federal Judge Blocks Trump's $100,000 Fee for New H-1B Worker Visas

A second federal judge on Wednesday blocked a $100,000 fee imposed by President Trump on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers. US District Judge Haywood Gilliam in Oakland, California, ruled that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services and the State Department did not follow the necessary rule-making processes prior to implementing the fee. Gilliam, appointed by former President Barack Obama, granted a request from a coalition of unions, employers, and nonprofits to block the agencies from enforcing the fee while a lawsuit filed in October is pending. This fee was previously blocked in June by a federal judge in Boston, who ruled in a separate case brought by 20 states. A Boston-based appeals court declined to pause that decision in July. The Department of Homeland Security in August sought to adopt a permanent fee of approximately $103,000, which is expected to face legal challenges. The legal issues surrounding this fee differ from those concerning the fee set by Trump, which focus on his authority to unilaterally impose such a fee. Originally set to expire on September 21, Trump extended the fee for another year. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Democracy Forward, a legal group representing the plaintiffs, praised the ruling, stating it protects a system that was disrupted. The US Chamber of Commerce has filed a third lawsuit challenging the fee, appealing a judge's decision that rejected its claims regarding Trump's authority. The H-1B program allows US employers to hire foreign workers with specialized training, particularly in technology sectors. The program offers 65,000 visas annually, with an additional 20,000 for workers with advanced degrees, typically approved for three to six years. Trump's order significantly increased the cost of obtaining H-1B visas, which previously ranged from $2,000 to $5,000. In implementing the fee, Trump cited federal immigration law that allows the president to restrict the entry of foreign nationals deemed detrimental to US interests, claiming that businesses had misused the H-1B program to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor. The Trump administration also mandated enhanced vetting of H-1B applicants and proposed a new visa selection process favoring higher-skilled and better-paid workers.