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The Justice Department is challenging a federal judge’s decision that found the administration lacked authority to impose the new H-1B application fee without congressional approval.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Trump administration has appealed a federal court ruling that struck down President Donald Trump’s $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications.
The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal Thursday after U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin of Massachusetts ruled that the administration did not have authority to impose the fee without approval from Congress, according to CNBC.
The fee was announced last year as part of Trump’s broader effort to overhaul the H-1B visa program and reduce incentives for companies to hire foreign workers instead of Americans.
Reuters reported that Sorokin found the fee operated more like a tax than a permissible immigration-related charge under existing federal law.
The judge also issued a nationwide injunction barring the State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from collecting or enforcing the $100,000 fee, according to Reuters.
Administration lawyers argued that federal immigration law gives the president broad power to restrict the entry of foreign nationals when doing so serves the national interest.
Sorokin rejected that argument, finding that Congress had not authorized the executive branch to impose a fee of that size on H-1B applications.
The lawsuit challenging the policy was brought by a coalition of Democratic-led states. They argued that the fee would harm employers, universities, hospitals and research institutions that rely on highly skilled foreign workers.
The appeal now sends the dispute to a federal appeals court, where judges will consider whether the Trump administration acted within its statutory authority when it created the fee.
The case could determine whether one of Trump’s most aggressive visa-related policies can move forward.
The H-1B program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations, often in technology, medicine, engineering, research and higher education. Supporters of the program say it helps employers fill skilled positions, while critics argue it can be used to displace American workers or suppress wages.
Trump has made changes to legal immigration programs a central part of his second-term immigration agenda, arguing that visa rules should prioritize American workers and reduce dependence on foreign labor.
The administration’s appeal sets up another legal fight over the limits of presidential authority in immigration policy, an area where Trump has repeatedly sought to test the scope of executive power.
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