Federal Court Ruling Vacates $100,000 H-1 Fee
President Trump established a new $100,000 fee for employers seeking H-1 approval from USCIS to employee foreign nationals outside of the U.S. in fall of 2025. See ISSO news for more details. On Monday, June 8, 2026 the Federal District Court for Massachusetts in a lawsuit brought by the State of California, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and 18 other states, set aside and declared unlawful the Presidential Proclamation which instituted an additional $100,000 filing fee requirement for employers filing H-1B petitions for employees outside the U.S. or those needing to travel outside the U.S. to apply for a visa to return to the U.S. to work in H-1 status. The Court held that the $100,000 payment requirement improperly levies a tax on H-1B petitions without Congressional authorization and that the implementation of the Proclamation violated the Administrative Procedure Act which means the $100,000 payment requirement has been set aside and vacated in its entirety nationwide.
Employers will need to closely monitor further developments as USCIS has already appealed the federal ruling effectively restarting the $100,000 fee requirement while this continues to play out in the courts. The ISSO Scholar Services team will continue to recommend BU employees extend or change their status from within the US given the uncertainty. Please contact your ISSO scholar advisor if you are a BU employee seeking H-1 sponsorship or, the immigration attorney who represents you and your employer in an H-1 petition should you have any questions about how this could impact pending or future H-1 applications at other employers.