Judge Strikes Down $100K Fee on Visas  06/09 09:38

   

   BOSTON (AP) -- A federal judge on Monday struck down the Trump 
administration's $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, contradicting an earlier 
federal court ruling upholding the fee hike.

   The administration announced the much-higher fee as a way of preventing 
foreign workers from taking American jobs.

   But U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston sided with 20 states and 
struck down the visa policy, concluding that the executive branch exceeded its 
authority and violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how 
federal agencies develop and issue regulations.

   "The Court finds that the Policy imposes a tax on H-1B petitions without the 
requisite delegation by Congress," Sorokin wrote.

   H-1B visas are meant for high-skilled jobs that are difficult to find 
American workers to fill. Deep-pocketed technology companies are the biggest 
users, with nearly three-quarters of approvals going to workers from India. The 
states argued that using the H-1B program to fill vacancies for much-needed 
doctors and teachers was already difficult before the higher fee.

   Most H-1B visa applications cost several thousand dollars before the 
announced increase set off a wave of panic among confused employers, students 
and workers in the United States and abroad and led to several lawsuits, 
including in Boston.

   The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also sued, in federal court in Washington, 
D.C., and has appealed a denial of a summary judgment against the fee hike. 
That left the higher fee in effect, at least until September 2026, when it is 
scheduled to expire. Monday's ruling is also a summary judgment, to the 
opposite effect. Still another lawsuit was filed in federal court in San 
Francisco, by religious groups and labor organizations, setting up the 
possibility of divided rulings in three appellate court circuits.

   In the Boston case, the states argued that the policy impedes their ability 
to hire primary and secondary school educators and to staff public colleges and 
universities, will stymie academic research and will lead to a decline in 
medical workers.

   "Today's victory protects the integrity of the H-1B visa program as a tool 
to address severe labor shortages in vital industries like education, 
healthcare, and medical research," Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy 
Campbell said in a statement. "In Massachusetts, this win will ensure we can 
fill critical vacancies and hire world-class faculty and researchers at 
colleges and universities across the Commonwealth."

   Bobby Mukkamala, the president of the American Medical Association, called 
the ruling "a victory for patients."

   "At a time when communities across the country face physician shortages and 
growing barriers to care, we should be removing obstacles -- not creating new 
ones -- to attract talented physicians and other highly skilled professionals," 
Mukkamala said. "International medical graduates play a vital role in caring 
for patients, particularly in underserved and rural areas."

   A Department of Homeland Security statement said the agency disagrees with 
"this blatant judicial activism dismantling President Trump's historic efforts 
for immigration reform."

   "Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, our immigration system is being 
reformed to serve American citizens, American workers, and American families 
and to preserve our national identity -- not to rapidly import foreigners who 
take American jobs, commit crimes, burden our welfare system, and erode our 
cultural and social fabric," the statement said, referring to Homeland Security 
Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

   In a separate statement, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said the 
administration "is confident this order will be reversed on appeal."