Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee Struck Down by Court
NEWS & RESEARCH
In September 2025, President Trump signed a proclamation that raised H-1B visa application fees—which previously cost just a few thousand dollars—to $100,000. These visas are given to highly-skilled international workers in order to address labor shortages in specialized fields, such as science, technology, and healthcare. Employers sponsoring the workers usually pay the fees, and the hike in prices was expected to dramatically decrease application numbers. A federal judge recently struck down the policy in a case led by 20 states.
SOURCES: The Hill | NPR | Washington Post
ANALYSIS & OPINION
Although the Trump administration has cast the $100,000 fee as motivation for companies to hire American workers, there are not enough domestic candidates to fill most of the H-1B positions. For example, the American Medical Association has argued that the healthcare workforce relies on foreign physicians because the US faces a doctor shortage, with rural areas the most affected. States have also claimed that the new policy would impede their ability to staff public universities, which could stymie academic research. Meanwhile, investors have argued that the fee would hurt innovation, as companies choose to offshore their operations and highly-skilled workers take their talents elsewhere, creating a possible brain drain. Many economists think that the high visa fee would therefore slow the US economy, with one bank even predicting a 0.5% decline in economic growth. However, the new policy is also illegal. A court struck it down saying that the $100,000 payments count as a tax, which only Congress has the power to levy. By usurping Congressional authority, Trump violated the constitutional separation of powers. Moreover, the policy violated the Administrative Procedure Act, since the new fee was arbitrary and capricious: It was adopted without any explanation and without considering employers’ reliance on H-1B workers, as well as the effects on healthcare and education.
SOURCES: Council on Foreign Relations | PBS | Clark Hill | DiRaimondo & Schroeder
HOW TO FIX IT
Federal action:
Pass the H-1Bs for Physicians and Healthcare Workforce Act, which would exempt foreign-trained healthcare workers from the $100,000 fee and bar any future fee increases above existing statutory levels for healthcare workers.
Pass the NO Ban Act, which would close a loophole in Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act—the provision Trump invoked to impose the $100,000 fee. Current law allows the president to impose any restrictions on the entry of non-citizens if deemed detrimental to U.S. interests; the bill would amend it to require congressional oversight and mandate that the Department of State provide credible facts justifying the restriction. Though originally introduced in response to Trump's travel bans on citizens of Muslim-majority countries, its constraints on Section 212(f) authority would apply to any presidential proclamation issued under that provision, including the H-1B fee.
Pass legislation amending Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to explicitly prohibit the president from imposing fees or taxes as part of any entry restriction.
Litigation:
Twenty Democratic-led states, led by the attorneys general of California and Massachusetts, filed a lawsuit challenging the $100,000 fee in California et al. v. Mullin. A federal district court ruled in the states' favor, but the administration has said it intends to appeal.
The US Chamber of Commerce filed a separate challenge, Chamber of Commerce v. DHS, in which a federal judge sided with the administration; the Chamber is appealing.
A coalition of labor unions, healthcare providers, schools, and religious organizations filed a separate suit, Global Nurse Force v. Trump, and moved for a preliminary injunction to pause enforcement of the fee while litigation proceeds.
Legislation: H.R. 7961 - H-1Bs for Physicians and Healthcare Workforce Act | S.398 - No BAN ACT
