On June 8, a federal district court in Massachusetts struck down, on a nationwide basis, the administration’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee requirement, which it had implemented in September 2025.

Effective immediately, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) cannot require employers to pay the $100,000 fee to apply for new H-1B visas.

The government will almost certainly appeal, so employers should ensure they stay up to date on future developments.

The $100,000 Fee & Divergent Court Decisions

Starting in September 2025, USCIS began requiring payment of a $100,000 H-1B fee for any new H-1B petition filed or approved for processing at a U.S. consulate. The fee does not apply to H-1B extension, change of status, or change of employer requests.

In December 2025, a federal district court in Washington DC rejected a challenge to the policy and upheld the $100,000 petition fee. Thus, the fee remained in place during this year’s H-1B lottery registration and selection process.

This policy had a substantial adverse effect on this year’s H-1B lottery registration, dropping new registrations nearly 60% from 336,153 to 211,600.

This week’s Massachusetts district court decision diverged from the earlier DC district court decision. It granted summary judgment invalidating the USCIS policy implementing the $100,000 H-1B fee, on two primary legal grounds –

• First, the fee amounts to a tax, which cannot be levied by the President or executive agencies alone and instead must have congressional input.

• Second, the policy violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) because it went beyond statutory authority and failed to follow necessary notice and comment procedures.

What Happens Next?

The government almost certainly will quickly appeal. A federal appeals court could grant a stay of this week’s district court decision while an appeal is pending, or the appeals court could allow the district court’s decision prohibiting the $100,000 fee requirement to stand while the appeal proceeds.

The $100,000 H-1B fee policy was initially set to expire on September 20, 2026, but could be extended by the administration, depending on the status of litigation.

Silberman Law will closely monitor this developing situation, and will provide updates so employers can make well-informed H-1B application decisions.

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If you have questions about this Alert or want immigration law advice or guidance, please contact the Silberman Law legal professional with whom you work, or simply reply to this Alert.