Second Federal Judge Blocks Trump’s $100,000 Fee for New H-1B Worker Visas

A second federal judge has blocked President Trump’s $100,000 fee on certain new H-1B worker visas, delivering another setback to the administration’s effort to overhaul the program used by American companies to hire highly skilled foreign workers.

U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam in California ruled Wednesday that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the State Department failed to follow required federal rulemaking procedures when implementing the fee. Gilliam granted a request from a coalition of unions, employers and nonprofit organizations challenging the policy.

The $100,000 payment requirement was originally announced by President Trump in September 2025 as part of a broader effort to address what the administration described as widespread abuse of the H-1B program. Trump extended the restrictions for another year in September 2026.

Under the policy, certain H-1B workers outside the United States could not enter the country unless their petitions were accompanied by the $100,000 payment. The administration included exceptions allowing the Department of Homeland Security to waive the requirement when hiring particular workers was determined to be in the national interest.

The White House has argued that some companies have used the H-1B program to replace American employees with lower-paid foreign labor. The administration has particularly targeted outsourcing and information technology staffing companies that have historically accounted for large numbers of H-1B applications.

According to the White House, the changes have already dramatically altered the program. The administration says registrations from the largest IT staffing and outsourcing companies fell by approximately 92%, while the share of applicants with at least a U.S. master’s degree increased.

Gilliam’s ruling focused largely on how federal agencies implemented the president’s proclamation. The judge concluded that the agency policies amounted to legislative rules that should have gone through the federal notice-and-comment process before taking effect.

The decision follows a separate ruling in June by U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Massachusetts, who also struck down the $100,000 fee. Sorokin concluded that the payment functioned as a tax and that the president lacked congressional authorization to impose it. A federal appeals court later declined the administration’s request to pause that ruling.

The administration’s broader effort to change the H-1B system is continuing despite the court battles. The Department of Homeland Security has separately proposed a permanent fee of roughly $103,000, while other changes have been designed to prioritize higher-paid and higher-skilled foreign workers.

The H-1B program provides 65,000 visas annually under its regular cap, along with another 20,000 slots for workers with advanced degrees from American universities. The latest ruling adds another layer to the legal fight over how far the executive branch can go in reshaping the program without additional authorization from Congress.