Judge in H-1B Fee Suit Wants Feedback on Refugee Ruling’s Impact

A federal judge in California ordered the government and plaintiffs challenging a $100,000 Trump H-1B fee to weigh in on the significance of a circuit court decision allowing a halt on refugee admissions to stand.

Justice Department attorneys say that Ninth Circuit ruling bolsters the government’s case that the $100,000 fee is legal. It comes as multiple courts mull whether a US Supreme Court tariffs decision supports arguments that President Donald Trump lacks authority to impose the charge on specialty occupation workers hired from outside the US.

A US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit panel ruled March 5 in Pacito v. Trump that the Trump administration’s termination of agreements with refugee resettlement agencies was likely unlawful. But it found plaintiffs’ challenge to a suspension of refugee entry didn’t show a likelihood of success.

Although the government is required to provide services to newly admitted refugees, nothing in the Refugee Act bars the president from suspending admissions of refugees, the Ninth Circuit found.

The government notified Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. of the Northern District of California of the Ninth Circuit decision over the weekend.

It also flagged the ruling to the DC Circuit, which is weighing a separate fee challenge led by the US Chamber of Commerce. A DOJ attorney told that appellate panel in a Monday hearing that plaintiffs’ arguments in Pacito mirrored claims made by the Chamber.

Gilliam directed parties in the California litigation Monday to submit new briefs on the relevance of Pacito. He conducted a Feb. 26 hearing that focused in large part on the impact of the Supreme Court’s tariffs decision in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump.

Plaintiffs in the Northern District of California are represented by Justice Action Center, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, Kuck Baxter Immigration, LLC, Bless Litigation, Democracy Forward Foundation, and the South Asian American Justice Collaborative.

The case is Global Nurse Force v. Trump, N.D. Cal., No. 4:25-cv-08454, order issued 3/9/26.