US Court Strikes Down $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee as Unlawful

A US federal court on 8 June 2026 struck down a $100,000 fee that the Trump administration had imposed on new H-1B visas, ruling that it amounted to an unlawful tax that the US Congress never authorised. The case was brought by a group of 20 state attorneys general challenging the fee announced in September.

The H-1B is a work visa that allows US employers to hire highly skilled foreign workers in specialised fields. The programme offers 65,000 visas a year, plus another 20,000 for workers with advanced degrees, valid for three to six years. Indian professionals, especially in the technology sector, are among the largest recipients of H-1B visas.

Before the new fee, employers typically paid around $2,000 to $5,000 to sponsor a worker. The steep $100,000 charge sharply discouraged applications — by mid-February, only a handful of such payments had been received. The court held that while immigration law lets the President restrict entry, it does not allow the executive to impose what is effectively a large new tax.

For India, the ruling is significant because changes to H-1B rules directly affect Indian IT firms and skilled migrants, and influence remittance flows. It is a useful example of the separation of powers — how courts can check executive action — and of the India–US mobility relationship.