Who’s Hiring
A second federal judge has blocked the government from implementing the $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas while a lawsuit challenging it proceeds, Reuters reported. U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. in Oakland, California, ruled on Wednesday, September 30, that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the State Department did not follow required rule-making procedures before implementing the fee.
The H-1B program lets U.S. employers sponsor foreign workers in specialty occupations, including many technology, engineering and health-care roles. The ruling does not end the legal dispute over the fee.
The case
The plaintiffs in Global Nurse Force v. Trump, filed in October 2025, are a coalition of unions, employers, religious organizations and other nonprofits, including Global Nurse Force, the United Auto Workers, the Service Employees International Union and the American Association of University Professors. They are represented by Democracy Forward and the Justice Action Center. Public reports do not yet describe the exact scope of Gilliam’s order, including which petitions it covers.
Courts are divided
In June, U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston ruled for 20 states that challenged the fee and set aside the policy, and in July the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit declined to pause that ruling while the government appeals. In a third case, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., rejected the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s claim that the president lacked authority to set the fee; the Chamber is appealing.
President Trump has said businesses abused the H-1B program and replaced American workers with cheaper foreign labor. The challengers argue the fee was imposed unlawfully. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling, according to Reuters.
What employers face
The program offers 65,000 visas a year, plus 20,000 for workers with advanced degrees. H-1B petitions have typically carried about $2,000 to $5,000 in fees. The proclamation imposing the $100,000 fee was originally set to expire September 21 but was extended for another year. Separately, the Department of Homeland Security published a proposed rule in August that would set a permanent fee of $103,265 for certain H-1B petitions. That rule is not in effect, and Reuters noted it would raise different legal issues.
For hiring teams, the practical issue is planning under unsettled rules. The rulings do not show how many employers will change sponsorship plans, and they do not establish any effect on hiring of U.S. workers. Employers making immediate decisions should rely on current agency guidance and legal counsel.
Sources
- Reuters, “Second judge blocks Trump’s $100,000 fee for new H-1B worker visas,” September 30, 2026. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/second-judge-blocks-trumps-100000-fee-new-h-1b-worker-visas-2026-10-01/
- Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, Global Nurse Force v. Trump, No. 4:25-cv-08454 (N.D. Cal.). https://clearinghouse.net/case/47032/
- Federal Register, “Fee for Certain H-1B Petitions,” proposed rule, August 25, 2026. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/25/2026-17324/fee-for-certain-h-1b-petitions
Featured photo: The Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland, California, which houses a federal courthouse, photographed in 2008. Photo: V Smoothe, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). Cropped from the original.
