Federal Judge Overturns Donald Trump's Rule Regarding US$100,000 H-1B Visa Fees

A federal judge on Monday officially overturned a policy by President Donald Trump that mandated an H-1B visa application fee of US$100,000 (approximately Rp1.6 billion). The judge ruled that the President does not possess the authority to impose such new policies on a programme widely used by American companies to recruit highly skilled foreign workers.

US District Judge Leo Sorokin stated that only Congress holds the power to alter federal immigration policy to include such requirements. Sorokin viewed the fee as a form of taxation, noting that the legislature never granted the executive branch permission to implement such changes unilaterally.

“The President does not have the power or delegated authority to impose a tax on H-1B petitions,” wrote Sorokin, a Boston-based judge appointed by former President Barack Obama, in a 42-page decision overturning the policy.

The legal challenge was originally filed by a coalition of Democratic state attorneys general last December. The lawsuit emerged several months after Trump implemented the US$100,000 fee rule as an attempt to restrict the H-1B visa programme, which Trump claimed had been overused.

For context, the H-1B visa allows foreign professionals to seek employment in the United States in specialised fields. Applicants for this programme are required to hold a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent.

In the decision overturning Trump’s policy, Sorokin rejected arguments from the government. The Trump administration had previously argued that the president possesses the authority to implement such requirements under federal immigration law, which grants the president discretion to alter US policies in other ways.

However, the judge emphasised that no part of the law indicates that Congress has authorised the president to levy taxes within the realm of immigration.