U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin concluded that the fee on the visas for highly skilled foreign workers constituted an unlawful tax Congress never authorized.

A federal judge on Monday ruled that the USD 100,000 fee imposed by US President Donald Trump for H-1B applications was unlawful as it did not have the approval of Congress. "...the Court finds that the Policy imposes a tax on H-1B petitions without the requisite delegation by Congress," US District Court judge Leo Sorokin in Boston, Massachusetts, said in a ruling. The H-1B programme is one of the most sought-after US work visas that allows American companies to hire skilled global talent.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Massachusetts Monday struck down the Trump administration’s efforts to require a $100,000 visa fee for highly skilled immigrant workers, finding the policy is an unlawful tax. Judge Leo T. Sorokin found the hefty fee placed on the H-1B visa by President Donald Trump exceeded his authority by creating a […]

A federal ⁠judge on Monday ⁠struck down a US$100,000 fee that ⁠US President Donald Trump imposed on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, concluding that it constituted an unlawful tax that Congress never authorised. US District Judge Leo Sorokin ‌in Boston issued the ruling in a lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic state attorneys general challenging a fee Trump announced in September that dramatically raised the cost of obtaining H-1B visas, which tech companies in particular rely...