In September of last year, President Donald Trump announced that highly skilled foreign workers who used an H-1B visa would have to pay a $100,000 fee. However, a federal judge recently struck down this fee, meaning that employers and employees do not have to worry about covering this suddenly increased cost.
The reasoning for the judge’s decision was that Congress never authorized the fee. Therefore, the courts viewed it as an unlawful tax. They said that Trump himself lacked the authority to independently create a new visa fee that could affect employment in the United States.
The impact on tech companies
This is likely good news for tech companies, which often bring in foreign workers and rely heavily on H-1B visas. It would have made it much more difficult for them to seek the talented employees that they need.
A key part of the judge’s decision was simply disagreeing that this was a standard fee or penalty that would go along with H-1B visas. Instead, the judge said that it was a tax. As such, a president cannot authorize taxes without the approval of Congress. The judge said that it did not matter what the payment was called because it effectively operated as a tax anyway.
This is similar, the judge noted, to some of the tariffs that had been applied, which were supposed to be used in national emergencies. These were also struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court as unlawful actions by President Trump.
A statement from the White House indicates that it plans to appeal. However, this does help to demonstrate how quickly immigration laws can change and why it is so important for employers and employees alike to understand exactly what legal steps to take.