A federal judge has voided, "in its entirety," the Trump administration policy that since September has required employers to pay $100,000 fees for H-1B skilled worker visa petitions in the United States.

Judge Leo T. Sorokin of the Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled on Monday, June 8, 2026, that the fee amounts to an unlawful tax on companies. In a 42-page opinion, he wrote that the policy appeared to step on Congress's "exclusive power" to levy taxes under the Constitution.

The administration had argued the charge was a "regulatory payment" within the executive branch's power to set, not a tax. Judge Sorokin dismissed that claim outright.

"This is mere ipse dixit," he wrote, meaning offered without evidence. "Defendants offer no definition for what constitutes 'a regulatory payment,' cite no cases or statutes employing the term, and advance no reasoned argument explaining how this term encompasses something different than a tax or a penalty."

What the Ruling Changes

The decision nullifies one of a series of tactics the administration has used to restrict legal immigration, even in fields where foreign skilled labor helped address severe shortages. Judge Sorokin also noted the rule was hastily formulated with no formal process and no request for public comment, despite what might have been broad opposition across industries that have historically relied on the visa program.

The H-1B program provides about 85,000 new visas annually through a lottery process to hire so-called high-skilled foreign workers. Technology companies, banks, hospitals and universities have all made ample use of those visas. Many companies had said the $100,000 fee would be prohibitively expensive, especially for smaller firms and nonprofit groups that rely on hiring workers from abroad.

A coalition of 20 states sued to end the policy in December 2025, arguing it was certain to exacerbate shortages of skilled workers including teachers, academic researchers and medical workers.

"Every day, thousands of people with H-1B visas serve New Yorkers as doctors, teachers and other skilled workers," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. "Today a court put an end to this administration's illegal attempt to destroy this critical program and the many jobs it makes possible."

A Split in the Courts

The ruling came nearly six months after Judge Beryl Howell of the federal court in Washington, D.C., reached the opposite conclusion in a separate case, allowing the administration to move forward with the fee. She found that under federal immigration law, Congress had given the president "broad authority to regulate entry into the United States for immigrants and nonimmigrants alike."

Judge Sorokin, like Judge Howell an Obama appointee, countered that the Supreme Court has maintained across several cases — including one against Mr. Trump's tariffs and another involving penalties under the Affordable Care Act — that the president can only impose a tax or penalty when Congress explicitly authorizes it.

Who Is Affected

The fee fell hardest on highly educated professionals who had seen the H-1B program as a comparatively secure route to life in America. In March 2026, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation that would waive the fee for foreign health care professionals, a group that has disproportionately supported rural and underserved hospitals facing staffing shortages. Neither chamber has adopted the measure.

The administration had argued in court filings that the H-1B program "has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor." President Trump said the $100,000 fee would push companies to hire more U.S. citizens into high-paying roles.

What Comes Next

The White House says it will fight on. Spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said President Trump "has clear legal authority to restrict entry of any class of aliens he determines is not in America's best interests," and added that the administration is "confident this order will be reversed on appeal." She cited Judge Howell's December ruling as a further sign that Monday's decision was flawed.

The split between federal judges increases the likelihood the dispute ultimately reaches a higher court. Federal judges have repeatedly found that the administration's efforts to restrict various immigration programs conflicted with federal immigration law as Congress wrote it.

Monday's ruling came just days after another federal judge similarly voided a policy directing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to freeze applications for work permits and other immigration benefits.

Employers and foreign workers should watch for further court filings and any appellate action, as the fee's status could change again. The official court opinion and USCIS communications remain the authoritative references for the current state of the H-1B fee requirements.