Appeals court rejects Trump bid to halt $100,000 H-1B visa fee ruling

BOSTON, July 24 - A federal appeals court on Friday rejected a bid by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to halt a judge's order preventing it from imposing a $100,000 fee ‌on new ⁠H-1B ⁠visas for highly skilled foreign workers.

The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to put on hold a lower court judge's June 8 rulingin a lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic state attorneys general, striking down the fee on the basis that it constituted an unlawful tax Congress never authorized.

The three-judge panel, composed only of appointees ⁠of Democratic presidents, ‌said the Trump administration failed to show it was likely on appeal to succeed in showing it had ⁠not exceeded its authority by imposing the fee.


The U.S. president issued a proclamation in September that raised the cost of obtaining H-1B visas, which tech companies rely heavily on to bring on foreign workers.

The H-1B program offers 65,000 visas annually, with another 20,000 visas for workers with advanced degrees, approved for three to six years. Employers seeking a visa for ‌a foreign worker before Trump's move typically paid about $2,000 to $5,000 in fees depending on various factors.

Trump, in imposing the ​hefty new ​fee, said the ⁠H-1B program "has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor."

The fee does not apply to visas granted ​to foreign citizens already in the U.S. on student visas, who generally make up a large share of new H-1B recipients.

Few employers have paid Trump's fee since it was instituted.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.