A US federal judge has declined to block former president Donald Trump’s proposal to impose a steep $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, dealing a blow to American technology firms and business groups challenging the move as restrictive and unlawful.
US District Judge Beryl Howell, based in Washington, DC, on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by the US Chamber of Commerce, which argued that the fee violated federal immigration law and would force employers—including companies and hospitals—to cut jobs and services.
In her ruling, Howell said Trump had the legal authority to impose the fee, noting that the proclamation was issued under “an express statutory grant of authority to the President.” The judge added that the courts could not weigh in on the political wisdom of the decision, as long as it remained within the bounds of the law.
The Chamber of Commerce had contended that the president lacked the power to levy such a fee and warned that it would disproportionately hurt employers dependent on skilled foreign labour. Its executive vice-president and chief counsel Daryl Joseffer said many small and medium-sized businesses would struggle to absorb the cost, adding that further legal options were being considered.
The H-1B visa programme allows US employers to hire foreign professionals in specialised fields and is widely used by the technology sector. It issues 65,000 visas annually, with an additional 20,000 reserved for workers holding advanced degrees. Until now, application-related fees typically ranged from $2,000 to $5,000. Under Trump’s order, the cost for new applications would rise sharply to $100,000.
The administration has argued that the change, along with reforms by the US Department of Homeland Security to favour higher-paid and more skilled applicants over a random lottery, is intended to protect American jobs and wages.
Companies such as Amazon, Tata Consultancy Services, Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Apple are among the largest users of H-1B visas, according to US government data.
Judge Howell also said the administration had sufficiently supported its claim that the H-1B programme was contributing to the displacement of American workers, citing instances where firms laid off thousands of US employees while continuing to seek foreign hires under the visa scheme.
