US$100,000 H-1B visa fee remains blocked, appeals court rules

Federal appeals court upholds block on US$100,000 visa fee for now

A federal appeals court has decided to keep President Donald Trump's US$100,000 H-1B visa fee blocked and declined the request to pause earlier court rulings.

On July 24, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled that the Trump administration had not shown it was likely to win the case. As a result, the fee remains blocked for now while the appeal continues.

What's changed, and what hasn't

The fee dates back to September 19, 2025, when Trump signed a proclamation imposing a US$100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions for workers outside the United States.

He said the program "has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers."

Twenty Democratic state attorneys general challenged the fee in court, and on June 8, 2026, U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin ruled that the fee acted like a tax, which only Congress can impose, and struck it down.

A few days later, on June 12, Sorokin paused his own ruling so the government could seek emergency relief from the 1st Circuit court.

This meant the fee was in effect again from June 12 to July 24. Now that the appeals court has ruled, the fee is blocked again while the case continues.

Who does the US$100,000 fee actually apply to?

If you already hold an H-1B visa, are renewing one, or filed your petition before September 21, 2025, the fee doesn't apply to you. It only targets new H-1B petitions for workers who are outside the United States.

It also doesn't apply to people already in the country, including many who convert from a student visa. The H-1B program issues 65,000 visas per year, plus an additional 20,000 for workers with advanced degrees.

Before the fee, employers typically paid between US$2,000 and US$5,000 per petition, and demand dropped sharply once the fee took effect.

Court filings show that by mid-February 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had received few payments of the new charge.

What this means for travelers

Brian Hunt, an immigration policy compliance lawyer at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, told Business Insider that some workers "were about to lose their job offer but can now get a visa after all" now that the fee is blocked again.

Hunt also noted it's unclear how many people this specific ruling will affect, since most US employers hire H-1B workers who are already in the country.

The bigger legal question, whether a president can impose a fee this size without Congress, is still working its way through the 1st Circuit and could end up at the Supreme Court.

Workers and employers relying on the H-1B program should expect the rules to keep shifting as the appeal moves forward.