A US federal court in Boston has struck down former President Donald Trump’s executive order imposing a $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visa applications, ruling that the president lacked constitutional authority to levy such a charge. District Judge Leo Sorokin issued a 42-page decision declaring the fee illegal, stating that it functioned as a tax rather than a regulatory fee, and that only Congress has the power to impose taxes under the US Constitution. The ruling followed a lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic attorneys general after the Trump administration introduced the fee in September of the previous year.

The court found that the administration’s reliance on the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) did not grant authority to impose taxes. Judge Sorokin also referenced a 2026 Supreme Court precedent that questioned the legal basis of Trump’s earlier tariff policies. The Trump administration had justified the fee as a measure to protect American workers from foreign competition under the H-1B program.

The decision is viewed as a relief for the US technology sector, which depends heavily on skilled foreign workers. Companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta had secured thousands of H-1B visas in early 2025, underscoring the program’s importance to the industry.