US court upholds $100K H-1B fee, tech companies face higher costs for hiring skilled foreign workers

A federal judge has paved the way for the Trump administration to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, a decision that deals a blow to U.S. technology companies dependent on skilled foreign labour. In a ruling on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell upheld the administration’s move to significantly raise the cost of the popular visa, which is widely used by tech companies to hire highly skilled workers from abroad, according to Bloomberg.

The ruling supports the Trump administration's broader agenda to tighten immigration and boost demand for U.S. workers. The decision comes as a setback for organisations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which had sued to block the fee increase. However, the Chamber retains the option to appeal the ruling.

Judge Howell dismissed the Chamber's argument that the president lacked the authority to impose such a fee, pointing to the statutory powers granted to the president by Congress. She wrote, “Here, Congress has granted the president broad statutory authority, which he has used to issue the proclamation addressing, in the manner he sees fit, a problem he perceives to be a matter of economic and national security.”

The ruling is a significant victory for the Trump administration's immigration policy, which aims to prioritise American workers.

Daryl Joseffer, Executive Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, expressed disappointment in the court's decision. He stated that the $100,000 fee makes the H-1B visa "cost-prohibitive" and undermines its original intent. “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,” he added, emphasising the need for businesses of all sizes to access global talent to fuel their growth.

H-1B overhaul

Meanwhile, in a major development on Tuesday, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made a significant change to the H-1B visa selection process, implementing a wage-based weighted lottery system aimed at favouring higher-paid and higher-skilled applicants for the H-1B visas in the FY 2027 registration season.

The DHS, in its draft document, clarifies the purpose of the new rule: "The purpose of this rule is to allow DHS to implement the numerical cap in a way that incentivises employers to offer higher wages, or to petition for positions requiring higher skills and higher-skilled aliens, that are commensurate with higher wage levels."