Judge Agrees to Partly Pause Order Tossing $100,000 H-1B Fee

A federal judge in Boston will pause for now his decision vacating a $100,000 fee on new H-1B workers while the Trump administration seeks an emergency appellate court stay.

Judge Leo Sorokin found that the six-figure Trump fee encroached on the exclusive tax powers of Congress and violated the separation of powers in a June 8 decision. The order in favor of 20 Democratic-led states was the first legal defeat for the policy that’s upended the cornerstone visa program for high-skilled workers.

The Trump administration almost immediately appealed the decision and on June 12 filed a motion asking Sorokin to stay his order pending a US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit decision. Sorokin said he’ll stay his order issued in the District of Massachusetts until the appellate court weighs in.

The government is likely to succeed with arguments that the fee is a justified exercise of foreign commerce and immigration powers, Department of Justice attorneys said.

The order also prevents the president from addressing national security threats stemming from abuse of the H-1B program, according to the court filing.

“Indeed, every day the district court’s order remains in effect, additional aliens will rush to seek classification and entry as an H-1B nonimmigrant worker,” the DOJ filing said.

The fee, which applies to all new H-1B hires who require processing at consulates outside the US, is facing multiple legal challenges. Decisions on the policy are also pending in the Northern District of California and the District of Columbia Circuit. Plaintiffs notified judges in both cases of Sorokin’s order, saying it strengthened their challenges to the fee.

The case is State of California v. Mullin, D. Mass., No. 1:25-cv-13829, order 6/12/26.