Judge blocks Trump's $142,000 H-1B skilled worker visa fee

A US federal judge has struck down President Donald Trump's $US100,000 ($142,000) fee on new H-1B high-skilled visas, contradicting an earlier federal court ruling upholding the fee hike.

The Trump administration announced the much higher fee as a way of preventing foreign workers from taking American jobs.

But US District Court Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston sided with 20 states and struck down the visa policy on Monday, local time, concluding that the executive branch exceeded its authority and violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations.

"The Court finds that the Policy imposes a tax on H-1B petitions without the requisite delegation by Congress," Mr Sorokin wrote.

H-1B visas are meant for high-skilled jobs that are difficult to find American workers to fill.

Deep-pocketed technology companies are the biggest users, with nearly three-quarters of approvals going to workers from India.

The states argued that using the H-1B program to fill vacancies for much-needed doctors and teachers was already difficult before the higher fee.

Most H-1B visa applications cost several thousand dollars before the announced increase set off a wave of panic among confused employers, students and workers in the United States and abroad and led to several lawsuits, including in Boston.

More rulings to come

The US Chamber of Commerce also sued, in federal court in Washington DC, and has appealed a denial of a summary judgement against the fee hike.

That left the higher fee in effect, at least until its scheduled expiry in September 2026.

Monday's ruling is also a summary judgement, to the opposite effect.

Still another lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Francisco, by religious groups and labour organisations, setting up the possibility of divided rulings in three appellate court circuits.

In the Boston case, the states argued that the policy impeded their ability to hire primary and secondary school educators and staff public colleges and universities, would academic research and would lead to a decline in medical workers.

"Today's victory protects the integrity of the H-1B visa program as a tool to address severe labour shortages in vital industries like education, healthcare, and medical research," Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said in a statement.

"In Massachusetts, this win will ensure we can fill critical vacancies and hire world-class faculty and researchers at colleges and universities across the Commonwealth."

'Victory' for doctor shortages

Bobby Mukkamala, the president of the American Medical Association, called the ruling "a victory for patients".

"At a time when communities across the country face physician shortages and growing barriers to care, we should be removing obstacles — not creating new ones — to attract talented physicians and other highly skilled professionals," Mukkamala said.

"International medical graduates play a vital role in caring for patients, particularly in under-served and rural areas."

A Department of Homeland Security statement said the agency disagreed with "this blatant judicial activism dismantling President Trump's historic efforts for immigration reform".

"Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, our immigration system is being reformed to serve American citizens, American workers, and American families and to preserve our national identity — not to rapidly import foreigners who take American jobs, commit crimes, burden our welfare system, and erode our cultural and social fabric," the statement said, referring to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

In a separate statement, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said the administration was "confident this order will be reversed on appeal".

AP