United States | Federal court rules H-1B Proclamation implementation unlawful, vacates $100,000 H-1B visa fee; government to appeal

On June 8, 2026, a federal district court issued an order vacating agency actions implementing Presidential Proclamation 10973, Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers (“H-1B Proclamation”), declaring it “unlawful” and effectively blocking President Trump’s $100,000 petition fee requirement for new H-1B visas.

Key takeaways:

$100,000 petition fee requirement vacated nationwide, effective immediately. As part of the ruling, the court invalidated agency memoranda, guidance documents, website instructions, FAQs and fee schedules that established and enforced the supplementary petition fee. Thus, the $100,000 payment requirement is currently no longer in effect and new H-1B petitions requiring consular processing do not require the $100,000 fee.

Government appeal expected. The Trump administration is expected to appeal to seek to get the ruling reversed and seek a stay of the ruling pending that appeal, which could reinstate the fee requirement without notice. “White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said the administration is ‘confident’ that Sorokin’s order will be reversed on appeal,” Bloomberg Law reported.

Court finds legal violations. In the ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the Court found that the $100,000 H-1B petition fee was an unlawful tax and that implementation of the H-1B Proclamation’s mandates exceeded agency authority, were arbitrary and capricious and failed to undergo needed notice and comment in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

H-1B visa appointment timelines remain uncertain. Although the ruling renews the possibility of H-1B filings with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the timeline for obtaining a visa is still unclear and depends on consular appointment availability in the beneficiary’s home country.

Additional information: BAL is closely monitoring this litigation and related developments and will continue to provide updates. BAL clients are encouraged to work closely with their BAL teams to determine next steps.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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