The Daily Fuckup

A federal judge in Boston has blocked the Trump administration’s $100,000 charge on new H-1B visa petitions, handing a win to 20 states that challenged the policy.

In a June 8 order, U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin said the administration had gone beyond the authority Congress gave it and violated the Administrative Procedure Act. The ruling centers on Proclamation 10973, which President Donald Trump signed on September 19, 2025 and set to take effect on September 21, 2025.

The proclamation added a $100,000 supplemental payment requirement for employers filing new H-1B petitions. Sorokin wrote that the government’s implementation could not stand under the legal theory it advanced. The court also noted that the H-1B program and related fee structure are already governed by a mix of statute and agency rulemaking.

The case matters well beyond one docket in Massachusetts. H-1B visas are a major pipeline for employers in technology, health care, engineering, research and higher education, and the states argued that a charge of this size would have driven hiring and staffing decisions far outside the administration’s stated target. Sorokin’s order leaves the fee blocked unless a higher court revives it or the government finds another lawful way to impose a similar charge.