A federal judge on Monday voided President Donald Trump’s requirement of a $100,000 application fee for H-1B visas, ruling that he lacked authority to impose the new policy for a program used by companies to hire highly skilled foreign workers in specialized fields.
US District Judge Leo Sorokin said that only Congress had the power to change federal immigration policy to include such a requirement, which he viewed as a tax, and that lawmakers had not given the executive branch permission to unilaterally make the change.
“The President had no power or delegated authority to impose a tax on H-1B petitions,” Sorokin, an appointee of former President Barack Obama based on Boston, wrote in a 42-page decision striking down the policy.
The case was brought by a coalition of Democratic state attorneys general in December, several months after Trump imposed the $100,000 requirement in an effort to rein in the program, which he said was being overused.
H-1B visas allow foreign professionals to seek work in professions that are considered to be more specialized. Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree or a similar equivalent.
The visa is valid for three years and can be renewed for another three years. Economists have argued the program allows US companies to maintain competitiveness and grow their business, creating more jobs in the US.
In his ruling voiding Trump’s policy, Sorokin rejected arguments from the administration that the president had the power to implement the requirement because of federal immigration law giving him leeway to change US policy in other ways. Nowhere in those laws, the judge said, did Congress also give the president the power to levy taxes in the immigration sphere.
Natalie Baldassarre, a Justice Department spokesperson, said the DOJ “is committed to protecting American workers and fully supports President Trump’s America First agenda,” and pointed to an earlier ruling in the administration’s favor in a separate challenge to the policy.
“We will continue to hold companies accountable when they unlawfully exploit American workers and fail to use the H-1B program as intended,” she said.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office led the lawsuit, said in a statement that the court had “put an end to this administration’s illegal attempt to destroy this critical program and the many jobs it makes possible.
“Workers with these visas contribute immensely to our state, and I will keep fighting to stop this administration’s unjust and unlawful attacks on our immigrant communities,” James said.
This story has been updated with additional responses.
CNN’s Casey Gannon, Alejandra Jaramillo and Adam Cancryn contributed to this report.
