No Borders NewsNew York Attorney General Letitia James announced a federal court ruling that stops a Trump administration policy imposing a $100,000 fee on all new H-1B visa applications. The court found the fee policy unlawful after James and a coalition of 19 other attorneys general challenged it.
The H-1B program lets U.S. employers petition to hire foreign workers for “specialty occupations” for up to six years. People on H-1B visas work in fields such as health care, education, technology, and other skilled industries, filling roles where employers say there are shortages.
James said the decision ends what she described as an illegal attempt to harm a “critical program” and the jobs it supports. She pointed out that H-1B workers serve in New York as doctors, teachers, and other skilled workers.
The lawsuit argued that the fee would make it harder for employers to bring in needed workers and would worsen labor shortages in important sectors. In New York, the state said SUNY employs hundreds of H-1B workers, and hospitals face ongoing nursing shortages; the state also noted that many health care workers in New York are immigrants.
According to the announcement, the administration announced the $100,000 fee in September 2025, and the coalition sued in December 2025. The court granted summary judgment for the coalition and vacated the policy implementing the fee. The case involved attorneys general from multiple states, including Arizona, California, and Massachusetts, among others.