Overview
- The Boston-based First US Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday denied the government’s emergency request and left US District Judge Leo Sorokin’s June 8 judgment blocking the fee in effect while appeals continue.
- Judge Sorokin found the $100,000 payment functioned as a tax that Congress never authorized and said the executive lacked the statutory power to impose it.
- Court filings showed the fee sharply cut employer demand for new overseas H‑1B petitions, with US Citizenship and Immigration Services receiving very few payments after the proclamation.
- Separately, Republican Senator Tim Sheehy has proposed legislation that would pause new H‑1B visas for three years and codify the $100,000 charge, creating parallel judicial and legislative paths.
- The ruling protects employers, universities, and prospective foreign hires for now and leaves key questions to resolve on appeal and in other courts about executive authority, Congress’s role, and the future shape of the H‑1B program.