FEDERAL JUDGE STRIKES DOWN TRUMP $100,000 H-1B VISA FEE

A federal judge has ruled that a $100,000 fee Donald Trump imposed on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers is unlawful and must be invalidated. US District Judge Leo Sorokin issued the ruling on Monday in Boston. The decision found that the fee constituted a tax that Trump did not have the authority to impose. The ruling marks a significant legal defeat for the executive order underpinning the fee.

Trump announced the fee in September as part of an executive order that substantially raised the cost of obtaining H-1B visas. The legal challenge was brought by 20 Democratic state attorneys general who contested the measure in court. H-1B visas allow US employers to hire highly skilled foreign nationals in specialist occupations. The case was heard in the federal district court in Boston.

The ruling requires the fee to be invalidated following Judge Sorokin's determination that it exceeded presidential authority. The lawsuit was one of several legal actions brought by coalitions of Democratic state attorneys general against Trump administration immigration measures. The decision has direct implications for employers and foreign workers who rely on the H-1B visa programme. No immediate response from the Trump administration was included in the available reporting.