A federal judge in Boston has blocked the Trump administration's $100,000 H-1B visa fee, stating it is an unauthorized tax without congressional approval. The policy, enacted last year, drastically increased the fee from $2,000-$5,000 to prioritize U.S. citizens. The White House plans to appeal the decision.
The Trump administration unveiled a proposal on Monday to codify an unprecedented fee of more than $100,000 for cap-subject H-1B petitions for highly skilled foreign workers, replacing a charge first imposed by presidential proclamation last year that has thus far been blocked by a federal court.
The Department of Homeland Security's proposed rule would charge $103,265 as an additional fee for every H-1B petition subject to the annual statutory cap, including petitions eligible for the advanced-degree exemption.
The worker visas are heavily relied on in the tech, education and research industries.
The fee would be used to cover the federal government’s costs of administering the legal immigration system, including actions carried out by DHS and the Department of Justice, Department of State and Department of Labor.
FEDERAL JUDGE STRIKES DOWN TRUMP’S $100K H-1B VISA FEE, RULING IT AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL TAX
The Trump administration unveiled a proposal on Monday to charge an unprecedented fee of more than $100,000 for new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
"The proposed H‑1B fee is intended to recover the costs incurred across the federal government to adjudicate, vet, and support lawful immigration programs that otherwise must be funded by taxpayers," U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesperson Zach Kahler said in a news release.
The fee, which was first temporarily imposed by President Donald Trump's administration last year, was blocked by a federal judge in June in an order that barred the federal government from collecting the money.
An appeals court is reviewing the judge's decision while a different court considers whether a challenge to the fee by a major business group was properly rejected.
The temporary fee increase expires next month, one year after it was issued. The proposed rule by DHS was posted for public inspection Monday and is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday. It would make the $103,265 fee permanent.
The charge could be finalized by the end of the year.
The proposed rule by DHS would make the $103,265 fee permanent. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)
The H-1B program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers with training in specialty occupations, with 65,000 of these visas offered annually under the regular cap.
Another 20,000 are offered for workers with a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution, generally granted for up to three years but typically extendable to a total of six years. Those visas typically came with fees between $2,000 and $5,000 before Trump's order, according to Reuters.
