Federal Judge Blocks $100,000 H-1B Fee

A federal judge in California has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing policies that required certain employers to pay a $100,000 fee when filing new H-1B petitions.

On September 30, 2026, U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. granted a preliminary injunction in Global Nurse Force v. Trump, N.D. Cal., No. 4:25-cv-08454, preventing federal agencies from enforcing or implementing the policies used to carry out the $100,000 H-1B payment requirement.

What Was the $100,000 H-1B Fee?

President Trump issued a proclamation in September 2025 requiring a $100,000 supplemental payment for certain new H-1B petitions involving workers outside the United States.

USCIS and U.S. Customs and Border Protection later issued memoranda and guidance explaining how the requirement would operate.

The fee generally applied to new H-1B petitions filed after September 21, 2025, for workers outside the United States who did not already have a valid H-1B visa. It generally did not apply to previously approved petitions, existing valid H-1B visas, or ordinary H-1B renewals.

Why Did the Court Block It?

The employers challenging the policy argued that the administration could not impose such a large new H-1B payment without following the procedures required by federal law.

Judge Gilliam concluded that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claim that the agencies failed to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act, including required notice-and-comment procedures.

The court emphasized that although the President has broad authority over immigration and entry into the United States, federal agencies still must follow applicable administrative-law requirements when implementing presidential directives.

What Did the Judge Order?

The court:

vacated the agency policies implementing the $100,000 H-1B fee.
prohibited federal agencies from enforcing or implementing those policies.
denied the government’s request to pause the ruling while an appeal is pursued and
required the agencies to complete notice-and-comment rulemaking and required regulatory analyses before implementing such policies.

The ruling also applies to policies implementing the September 2026 proclamation that extended the original H-1B restrictions for another year.

Is the $100,000 Fee Currently in Effect?

No.

The September 30 ruling provides an additional legal barrier preventing federal agencies from collecting or enforcing the $100,000 H-1B payment requirement.

The court noted that another federal court had already vacated the same agency policies in California v. Mullin, and the First Circuit Court of Appeals declined to pause that earlier ruling while the government appeals.

As a result, the $100,000 H-1B fee is currently not being enforced.

Does This End the $100,000 H-1B Fee Permanently?

Not necessarily.

The litigation is continuing, and the federal government may continue pursuing appeals.

The September 30 decision is a preliminary injunction rather than a final resolution of every legal issue surrounding the presidential proclamation. The court also noted that different federal courts have reached different conclusions regarding the President’s authority to impose the requirement.

DHS has also separately proposed a regulation that would establish a fee of approximately $103,000 for certain H-1B petitions, meaning the administration may continue attempting to implement a similar requirement through the formal rulemaking process.

Looking Ahead

For now, employers filing H-1B petitions are not required to pay the $100,000 supplemental fee created by the presidential proclamation.

The September 30 ruling blocks federal agencies from enforcing the policies that implemented the fee while the litigation continues.

Employers and H-1B workers should continue monitoring the litigation as the legal status of the fee remains fluid.

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