A blow to Trump: the court blocked the fee he imposed on work visas

Judge Leo Sorokin ruled in his decision in federal district court in Massachusetts that the new fee policy violated the Federal Administrative Procedure Act, and that the administration did not have the authority to impose the fee without express authorization from Congress. The ruling stated that although the government defined the payment as a “fee” or “fine”, in practice it is a new tax.

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The H-1B visa program was created in 1990 and is widely used by technology giants in the United States for the purpose of recruiting skilled workers from outside the country. The program allows American employers to hire foreign workers in special professions for a period of up to six years, and is one of the main immigration routes for engineers, developers and technologists.

Trump instituted the $100,000 fee through a presidential order last September, with the goal of reducing use of the program. He argued that the abuse of H-1B visas harmed the local economy and national security through “large-scale displacement of American workers.”

Before the change, the cost of applying for an H-1B visa typically ranged from $2,000 to $5,000 per application. According to documents submitted to the court, by February dozens of fees had been paid under the new policy, a figure that illustrated its effect on the demand for the program.

It is not clear at this stage if the administration will appeal the decision. However, the ruling is a blow to the restrictive immigration policy promoted by Trump and his attempts to reduce the use of the visa program popular among the American technology industry.