US President Donald Trump on Tuesday reacted to a US federal court striking down a $100,000 fee he imposed on H-1B visas last year, calling the legal move a step that would hurt the country.
US District Judge Leo Sorokin was behind the recent ruling, in which he deemed the steep visa fee “unlawful” and one which was never authorised by the Congress. When asked about the court order, Trump told reporters: “These federal judges are really giving us a hard time. It’s really crazy what’s going on with the court system… They’re hurting our country very badly.”
The H-1B visa program, of which Indians make up a large proportion of recipients, applies to employers seeking to “hire nonimmigrant aliens as workers in specialty occupations or as fashion models of distinguished merit and ability”.
The $100,000 fee was imposed in September 2025, when Donald Trump signed a proclamation adding the fee to H-1B applications.
Relief for Indians, but for how long?
Back when the fee was first introduced, it had caused worry among Indians, who constitute for about 70% of the visa holders in the US. The Boston court’s order, hence, comes as a big relief for Indians.
“We welcome the Massachusetts federal court’s decision striking down the USD 100,000 H-1B visa fee, which restores predictability and fairness to the employment-based immigration system,” Khanderao Kand, Chief of Policy and Strategy at the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS), told news agency PTI.
Not just the Indian community, employers in the US who rely heavily on skilled workers from outside the country, are also relieved after the Boston court’s order.
However, it is not certain how long the relief could stay. A White House spokesperson indicated that the order will be challenged in an appellate court.
“The H-1B programme has been abused for decades, and President Trump finally took action to fix it,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said, according to a Bloomberg report.
“A federal judge in Washington already upheld a nearly identical order, and the administration is confident this order will be reversed on appeal,” Rogers added.
What did the court order say?
US President Donald Trump’s decree dramatically increasing the cost of the popular visa is an unlawful tax and must be vacated, US District Judge Leo T Sorokin in Massachusetts said in a Monday ruling.
The judge said that Trump lacked the authority to impose the fee, and sided with California and 19 other states who moved the court against the fee.
