First Circuit Appeals Court Blocks $100,000 H1B Visa Fee

A federal appeals court has refused to allow the Trump administration to enforce a $100,000 fee on new H1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, leaving a lower court's injunction against the charge in place. The decision, issued on Friday, July 24, 2026, by a three-judge panel of the Boston-based First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, represents a significant setback for the administration's effort to dramatically increase the cost of the widely used work visa.

The appellate court declined to pause a June 8 ruling from U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin, who found the fee to be an unlawful tax that Congress had not authorized. The lawsuit was brought by a coalition of 20 Democratic state attorneys general. In its order, the appeals court panel stated the administration had not shown it was likely to succeed in its appeal, specifically failing to demonstrate that Congress had clearly granted the executive branch the authority to impose such a major financial burden on employers.

The contested fee originated from a presidential proclamation issued in September 2025. Before this policy, employers sponsoring new H1B workers typically paid between $2,000 and $5,000 in various...