Federal Judge Upholds Fee Requirement for H-1B Visa Peititions

A federal judge has granted the Trump Administration’s motion for summary judgment and upheld the legality of the $100,000 fee requirement for certain H-1B visa petitions. Chamber of Commerce of the USA v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, No. 1:25-cv-03675 (D.D.C. Dec. 23, 2025).

President Donald Trump’s Sept. 19, 2025, Presidential Proclamation, “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers,”introduced a new $100,000 fee requirement for new H-1B petitions for foreign workers outside the United States.

This court’s decision was in response to an Oct. 16, 2025, lawsuit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Association of American Universities filed challenging the legality of the Proclamation, questioning the Administration’s authority to levy the $100,000 fee, and arguing that the fee would cause significant and potentially irreparable harm to American businesses.

In upholding the legality of the Proclamation, U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell determined the Administration’s imposition of the $100,000 fee was within the broad power Congress delegated to the executive branch and the president to restrict entry of noncitizens into the United States.

As a result of the court ruling, the new H-1B fee remains in effect.

Two additional lawsuits challenging the legality of the Proclamation are pending. The first is an Oct. 3, 2025, lawsuit a coalition of immigration advocacy organizations and affected employers filed in federal court in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The second is a Dec. 12, 2025, lawsuit a coalition of 20 states filed in federal court in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.