US appeals court upholds ruling striking down Trump’s $100,000 H-1B fee

A U.S. federal appeals court has refused to stay a lower court order striking down the Trump administration's decision to impose a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers.

The three-judge Bench at the Boston-based First Circuit Court of Appeals denied the federal government's motion to stay U.S. District Judge Leo T Sorokin's June 8 ruling that struck down the fee, terming it an unlawful tax not authorised by Congress.

"...we deny the defendants' motion to stay pending appeal to this Court, the district court's June 8, 2026, Memorandum and Order and accompanying Judgment,” the Bench ruled on Friday (July 24, 2026).