Federal Court Voids Trump's $100,000 H-1B Fee — Next Stop Likely the Supreme CourtA · FULL TRANSLATION
- Massachusetts federal court ruled June 8 the employer fee is an unauthorized tax
- The administration will appeal; collection may continue during a stay
- Conflicting district rulings make Supreme Court review increasingly likely
The cost variable hanging over US work-visa hiring hasn't settled. A Massachusetts federal court struck down the $100,000 employer fee on new H-1B petitions, reasoning that a fee of that magnitude is effectively a tax — and taxing power belongs to Congress, not the president. Twenty Democratic-led states brought the case, arguing the fee was choking teacher and faculty recruitment. But the DC district court upheld the same fee in December, the administration is appealing, and collection may continue under a stay — a split that points toward the Supreme Court. With 73% of H-1B holders Indian nationals concentrated in tech and finance, and Japanese and Taiwanese firms running US operations on the same visa pipelines, the final ruling will reshape the cost structure of mid-level technical staffing in America. Talent strategy is geopolitical cost management now.
[Summary translation of JETRO business brief] The US District Court for Massachusetts ruled June 8 that the Trump administration's $100,000 employer fee on new H-1B visa petitions is invalid, holding that the fee is effectively a tax requiring congressional authorization and thus exceeds presidential power. The fee, introduced in September 2025, had roiled the IT industry. The suit was brought by a coalition of 20 Democratic-led states arguing the fee impeded hiring of teachers and academics. The administration plans to appeal; enforcement of the ruling may be stayed in the interim, during which collection would likely continue. Parallel litigation has split the courts — the DC district court upheld the fee in December 2025 in a Chamber of Commerce case now on appeal, and a healthcare workers' suit is pending in California — making Supreme Court review plausible. H-1B visas are capped at 65,000 annually plus 20,000 for US graduate-degree holders; 73% of 2023 approvals went to Indian nationals, concentrated in tech and finance. Pre-measure filing fees averaged $1,000-5,000 per Cornell analysis. (Source: JETRO, New York, June 11, 2026)