Overview
- A federal judge in Oakland, Haywood S. Gilliam Jr., issued the injunction on Sept. 30, blocking implementation of the $100,000 charge while a coalition’s lawsuit proceeds.
- The order bars U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and related agency actions, and it prevents Customs and Border Protection from enforcing guidance tied to the fee.
- This is the second federal court order to halt the charge following a separate June injunction in Boston, and an appeals court earlier declined to lift that block.
- Separately, the Department of Homeland Security is pursuing a roughly $103,000 permanent fee through formal rulemaking and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is pursuing its own appeals.
- The fee targeted certain new H‑1B entrants arriving from abroad rather than renewals, so the rulings remove an immediate extra cost threat for employers and new hires but leave long-term outcomes dependent on appeals and the DHS rulemaking.