The Trump administration can move ahead with a USD 100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, a federal judge ruled, handing a setback to US technology companies and other employers that rely heavily on skilled foreign workers.
US District Judge Beryl Howell said President Donald Trump acted within his legal authority when he ordered the sharp increase in the cost of the popular visa programme. The decision bolsters the administration’s broader push to curb immigration and shift hiring toward US workers.
The ruling allows the administration to proceed with the fee while legal challenges continue. The US Chamber of Commerce, which sued to block the measure, can appeal. Howell is an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama.
Howell rejected the Chamber’s argument that Trump lacked the power to impose such a fee, finding that the proclamation was issued under “an express statutory grant of authority to the President.”
She said Congress has given the president broad discretion to act when addressing issues he views as tied to economic and national security concerns.
“Congress has given the president broad authority that he used to address, in the manner he sees fit, a problem he perceives to be a matter of economic and national security,” Howell wrote.
“The parties’ vigorous debate over the ultimate wisdom of this political judgment is not within the province of the courts,” Howell wrote. “So long as the actions dictated by the policy decision and articulated in the Proclamation fit within the confines of the law, the Proclamation must be upheld.”
The Chamber warned that the fee would make H-1B visas prohibitively expensive for many employers, particularly smaller companies.
“We are disappointed in the court’s decision and are considering further legal options to ensure that the H-1B visa program can operate as Congress intended,” said Daryl Joseffer, the Chamber’s executive vice president and chief counsel. He said the programme is meant to help US businesses access global talent needed to grow.
The H-1B programme allows employers to hire foreign workers in specialised fields such as technology, engineering and health care. It currently offers 65,000 visas each year, plus an additional 20,000 for workers with advanced degrees. Until now, associated fees typically ranged from about USD 2,000 to USD 5,000.
The ruling does not end the legal fight. Other lawsuits challenging the fee remain active, including cases brought by Democratic-led states, unions and a global nurse-staffing agency. Another judge could still block the policy in the coming months, and the dispute is widely expected to end up before the US Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has announced a sweeping change to the H-1B visa programme, replacing the long-used lottery system with a weighted model that favours higher-skilled and higher-paid foreign workers.
The new rule, set to take effect on February 26, 2026, will apply to the fiscal year 2027 registration cycle and beyond. It will govern how tens of thousands of H-1B visas are awarded each year.
Under the overhaul, visas will no longer be distributed randomly when applications exceed the annual cap. Instead, priority will be given to applicants with stronger qualifications and higher wages, a shift the administration says is aimed at attracting top global talent.
Officials say the new approach is intended to better align the visa programme with labor market needs while reducing reliance on chance in the selection process
