Judge strikes down Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee, says it’s an unlawful tax

The judge issued the ruling in a lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic state ​attorneys general challenging the steeply increased fee.

BOSTON — A federal judge on Monday struck down a $100,000 fee that U.S. President Donald Trump imposed on new ​H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, concluding that it ‌constituted an unlawful tax that Congress never authorized.

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U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston issued the ruling in a lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic state ​attorneys general challenging a fee Trump announced in September ​that dramatically raised the cost of obtaining H-1B visas.

The ⁠H-1B program offers 65,000 visas annually, with another 20,000 visas ​for workers with advanced degrees, approved for three to six years. ​Employers seeking a visa for a foreign worker before Trump’s proclamation typically paid about $2,000 to $5,000 in fees depending on various factors.