U.S. District Judge David Hittner blocked a proposed $100,000 [1] fee for new H-1B visa applications on Monday, March 30, 2020 [2].
The ruling halts a significant attempt by the Trump administration to increase the cost of sponsoring high-skilled foreign workers. Because many technology firms rely on H-1B visas to recruit global talent, the decision removes a substantial financial barrier for the private sector.
Judge Hittner issued the order in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas division [3]. The court determined that the administration exceeded its authority by attempting to implement the charge. The judge ruled that the fee amounted to an unauthorized tax that cannot be imposed without the approval of Congress [3].
"The fee is an unauthorized tax that the President cannot impose without congressional approval," Hittner said [4].
The proposal faced criticism from industry leaders who argued the cost was prohibitive. Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, said the $100,000 [1] price tag is too high [5].
The White House responded to the court's decision by indicating it would challenge the ruling. "We will appeal this decision," a White House spokesperson said [6].
The H-1B program allows U.S. companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. The proposed fee would have fundamentally changed the economics of the visa process by shifting a massive cost onto the employers [1].
“"The fee is an unauthorized tax that the President cannot impose without congressional approval."”
This ruling reinforces the legal boundary between administrative rulemaking and the power to tax, which remains a congressional prerogative. By blocking the fee, the court prevented a potential exodus of high-skilled talent or a significant increase in labor costs for U.S. tech companies, while affirming that the executive branch cannot unilaterally impose large-scale financial levies on immigration processes.
