A US federal court has struck down Donald Trump's controversial $1,00,000 annual fee on H-1B visa applications, delivering a major relief to technology companies and thousands of skilled foreign professionals, including a large number of Indians working in the United States.
The ruling, issued by US district judge Leo Sorokin in Boston, declared that the fee imposed by Trump last year was unlawful because it effectively functioned as a tax, a power reserved exclusively for the US Congress under the US constitution.
The decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic state attorneys general challenging the fee, which had increased the cost of obtaining an H-1B visa by between 20 and 50 times compared with previous charges. The Trump administration is expected to appeal the ruling.
In his judgment, Judge Sorokin said the administration had exceeded its authority by imposing what amounted to a tax through a presidential proclamation. The administration had relied on provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act to justify the measure, but the court found that the legislation did not grant the president the power to levy such a charge.
Trump introduced the fee in September 2025, arguing that the H-1B programme was being used to replace American workers with foreign employees. The administration maintained that the measure would encourage companies to hire and train more Americans.
The ruling is expected to benefit major US technology companies, which depend heavily on skilled foreign talent. Firms such as Amazon, Microsoft and Meta are among the largest users of H-1B visas, employing thousands of software engineers, data scientists and technology specialists from overseas.
The H-1B programme, established in 1990, allows US employers to hire foreign professionals in specialised occupations for up to six years. The programme issues 65,000 visas annually, along with an additional 20,000 visas reserved for holders of advanced US degrees. Around two-thirds of all H-1B positions are in computer and technology-related fields.
Indian professionals are the biggest beneficiaries of the H-1B visa programme, accounting for more than 70 percent of all approved H-1B visas in recent years. The now-invalidated $1,00,000 fee had raised concerns that many employers would reduce hiring from overseas because of sharply higher costs.
With the court removing the fee, US companies are likely to face fewer financial barriers when recruiting highly skilled workers from India. This could support continued demand for Indian software engineers, artificial intelligence specialists, cloud computing experts and other technology professionals.
The ruling is also positive for India's information technology industry. Major Indian IT services companies such as Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCLTech and Wipro rely on the H-1B programme to deploy skilled employees to client projects in the United States. Had the fee remained in place, it could have significantly increased operating costs and reduced workforce mobility.
While the judgment provides immediate relief, uncertainty remains because the Trump administration is expected to challenge the ruling. Until the legal process is completed, companies and visa applicants will continue to watch developments closely.
For now, however, the decision removes one of the most significant financial hurdles proposed for the H-1B programme and is likely to be welcomed by both US employers and skilled Indian professionals seeking opportunities in the world's largest economy.