A federal judge in Boston struck down President Donald Trump’s $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications on Monday, ruling it an unlawful tax not authorised by Congress.
U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston issued the ruling in a lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic state attorneys general. The Trump administration had announced the fee in September last year. The judge concluded that the payment was a tax rather than a penalty and that the president lacked congressional authorisation. Normal fees for new H-1B applications had ranged from $2,000 to $5,000. The H-1B programme is used extensively by Indian professionals and IT companies. The ruling is viewed as relief for those applicants.
