A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the latest renewal and implementation of a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers.
U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr. in Oakland, California, found that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the State Department had failed to follow the notice-and-comment process required by the Administrative Procedure Act before imposing the fee.
The decision came after a coalition of labor unions, healthcare employers, faculty groups, and religious organizations requested a preliminary injunction in Global Nurse Force v. Trump, the first suit filed against the fee, lodged Oct. 3, 2025, in the Northern District of California.
The ruling came less than two weeks after the White House issued a Sept. 18, 2026, proclamation extending and reinforcing the fee through September 2027. It bars agencies from enforcing that extension or applying the updated guidance.
Following the decision, the plaintiffs’ legal team issued a joint statement on its effect on employers. “The court held that the agencies cannot do that, and it made clear that the order reaches the September 2026 extension as well. Two federal courts have now vacated these policies. Employers should know that, as of today, no agency policy lawfully requires the payment,” said attorney Jesse M. Bless, of Bless Litigation LLC and with the IMMpact Litigation coalition, which represents the plaintiffs.
The Justice Department has not announced whether it will appeal Judge Gilliam’s decision.
What is the status of the H-1B fee after the judge’s decision?
This is the second nationwide injunction against the fee. The fee is already inactive because of a June 2026 ruling by U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in a separate lawsuit brought by a coalition of 20 states. He ruled that the executive branch exceeded its authority by imposing a fee that functioned as an unauthorized tax. In a July 2026 decision, a federal appeals court denied the government’s request to pause that ruling, keeping the fee blocked.
The government is appealing the original Boston decision. It argues that immigration law gives the executive branch broad authority to set visa terms to protect domestic wages.
Besides Global Nurse Force v. Trump and the 20-states coalition, a second lawsuit is moving through the federal courts over the $100,000 H-1B visa fee, was filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Association of American Universities and pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
What does this court ruling mean for H-1B applicants and U.S. employers?
With the $100,000 fee blocked, H-1B hiring can continue under the usual fee structure, typically $2,000 to $5,000.
Employers can continue recruiting without paying the fee. Other parts of the Sept. 18 proclamation remain in effect, including increased scrutiny of wages and potential displacement of domestic workers.
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