Overview
- A federal judge in Boston vacated the $100,000 fee on June 8, ruling the proclamation functioned as an unauthorized tax and violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
- The White House has said it will appeal the ruling, meaning the fee could return if an appellate court or a higher court reverses the decision.
- The administration’s other changes — notably the spring wage‑weighted H‑1B lottery that gives higher odds to better‑paid jobs — remain in place and continue to shift selection toward higher wages.
- Employers reacted to the policy mix by sharply cutting registrations: USCIS reported about 211,000 eligible entries for the fiscal 2027 lottery, a drop of more than 38% from the prior year.
- Regulatory and enforcement pressure continues: the Labor Department has proposed large wage floors (for example, a $162,000 minimum for entry‑level software engineers in San Francisco), and state probes and fraud allegations are testing program safeguards and adding uncertainty for workers and hiring institutions.