A US federal judge has struck down the Trump administration's $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, according to a report by NPR. The ruling removes one of the most aggressive financial measures the administration had directed at the high-skilled visa programme.

The decision centres on a fee that would have applied to new H-1B petitions. Under the contested policy, employers filing for new H-1B visas faced a $100,000 charge per petition — a figure that far exceeded any standard filing fee previously attached to the programme and that critics had warned would effectively shut down new H-1B hiring for most companies.

With the judge's ruling, the $100,000 fee no longer stands as a legal requirement for new petitions. The court's decision strikes down the fee rather than simply pausing it, meaning the administration cannot continue to collect it under the current ruling.

Who is affected

The ruling matters directly to two groups:

• Employers planning new H-1B filings. Companies that had held back on new petitions because of the $100,000 per-petition cost now face a changed legal picture, with the fee struck down by the court.
• Foreign nationals seeking first-time H-1B status. Beneficiaries of new petitions — typically high-skilled workers sponsored by US employers — were the population the fee targeted. The ruling removes that barrier as imposed.

The fee applied to new H-1B visas, as NPR's report specifies. The ruling strikes the fee down. Readers should confirm with official US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) channels and the court's written decision for the precise scope of the judgment, including whether any aspects of the policy remain subject to further litigation or appeal.

Why this matters for the H-1B programme

The H-1B programme allows US employers to sponsor foreign workers in specialty occupations. It has long operated with statutory filing fees measured in hundreds or a few thousand dollars, alongside a congressionally set cap on new visas each fiscal year. A $100,000 fee per new petition represented an unprecedented escalation in cost — roughly two orders of magnitude above the programme's customary filing expenses.

Measures of that scale change employer behaviour at the planning stage. Many companies calculate hiring budgets around visa sponsorship costs well before the annual H-1B lottery and filing windows. A six-figure fee per new petition would have made first-time H-1B sponsorship unworkable for all but the largest budgets, and the court has now struck it down.

The ruling also fits a familiar pattern in US immigration policy: executive-branch fee and rule changes frequently meet court challenges, and judges have repeatedly halted or vacated measures that courts find exceeded administrative authority. In this case, the challenger succeeded in persuading a federal judge that the $100,000 fee could not stand.

What employers and applicants should watch next

Struck-down policies do not always stay struck down. The administration may appeal the decision, seek to reimpose the fee through a different mechanism, or introduce replacement measures within its existing authority. Each path carries its own timeline.

For readers tracking the H-1B programme, three checkpoints matter:

1. USCIS announcements. The agency that administers the H-1B programme publishes fee schedules and filing guidance. Check the official USCIS site before filing any new petition to confirm the current fee table.
2. The written court decision. The judge's opinion will define exactly what the ruling covers — the fee itself, the authority used to impose it, and the effective dates of the judgment.
3. Any appeal filings. If the government appeals, higher courts could revisit the ruling, and the fee's status could change again during litigation.

The bigger picture

The $100,000 fee was one of the most consequential measures aimed at the H-1B programme in recent years, precisely because it used cost, rather than eligibility rules or caps, to restrict access. Its removal by judicial order restores the previous cost structure for new petitions unless and until a court says otherwise.

For global mobility teams, the episode is a reminder that fee changes can arrive with immediate effect and can be reversed just as quickly by litigation. Filing strategies built around one fee regime may need adjustment within a single fiscal quarter.

Passport File will continue to track this ruling, any appeal, and the resulting fee schedule for new H-1B petitions. Always verify current requirements against official USCIS guidance and the court record before making filing decisions; this report describes the policy change and does not constitute legal advice for any individual case.