A United States federal judge on Tuesday upheld President Donald Trump’s $100,000 fee for processing H-1B visa applications, acknowledging that the policy could “inflict significant harm on American businesses and institutions of higher education.”
In a 56-page opinion, US District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the president has “broad statutory authority” to address “a problem he perceives to be a matter of economic and national security.”
The $100,000 application fee, announced in September, was implemented with just 36 hours’ notice, triggering confusion among employers over how the policy would operate and which companies would be affected.
The H-1B fee forms part of a broader immigration crackdown by Trump, who has intensified actions against migrants since returning to the White House. Until now, however, the measures had not directly targeted the H-1B visa programme, which is heavily relied upon by Silicon Valley and the wider US tech sector.
Trump has argued that the H-1B visa system is being abused to replace American workers with people willing to work for lower wages.
The United States issues 85,000 H-1B visas annually through a lottery system, with India accounting for about three-quarters** of the recipients.
Several tech industry figures, including Elon Musk, a former ally of Trump, have warned against restrictions on H-1B visas, arguing that the US lacks sufficient domestic talent to fill critical technology-sector roles.
The lawsuit challenging the fee was filed by the US Chamber of Commerce and the Association of American Universities, which represents 69 US-based research universities. The plaintiffs argued that affected visa holders “contribute enormously to American productivity, prosperity and innovation.”
The Chamber of Commerce, traditionally aligned with Republican interests, spent more than $76 million on lobbying in 2024 and nearly $6 million in direct contributions to Republican political groups and candidates, according to OpenSecrets.org.
Meanwhile, at least two additional lawsuits challenging the $100,000 H-1B visa application fee are still pending.
