Catenaa, Wednesday, December 24, 2025- A US federal judge said that the Trump administration can move ahead with a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, providing a setback for US tech companies.
US District Judge Beryl Howell said in a ruling Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s move to radically increase the cost of the popular visa is lawful.
The decision provides a boost to the administration’s campaign to restrict immigration and push demand for US workers. The US Chamber of Commerce, which sued to block the proposal, can appeal.
Howell rejected the Chamber’s argument that the president doesn’t have the power to impose the fee, finding that his proclamation was issued under “an express statutory grant of authority to the President.”
“Here, Congress has granted the president broad statutory authority, which he has used to issue the proclamation addressing, in the manner he sees fit, a problem he perceives to be a matter of economic and national security,” she wrote.
Daryl Joseffer, the Chamber’s executive vice president, said in a statement that the $100,000 fee makes H-1B visas cost-prohibitive.
“We are disappointed in the court’s decision and are considering further legal options to ensure that the H-1B visa program can operate as Congress intended: to enable American businesses of all sizes to access the global talent they need to grow their operations,” Joseffer said.
The H-1B visa program is a cornerstone of employment-based immigration, allowing companies in the US to hire college-educated foreign workers for specialized occupations.
In September, Trump signed a proclamation to increase the application fee to discourage companies from abusing a program that he claimed displaces US workers.
H-1B visas are awarded based on a lottery system, but are used primarily in the tech industry. Amazon, Tata Consultancy Services, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, and Apple are among the companies with the greatest number of H-1B visas, according to the US government.
