Trump’s $100,000 H-1B fee blocked again: Relief for Indian IT firms, tech professionals? What we know

A second US federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, providing temporary relief to Indian technology professionals and US companies that depend heavily on the programme.

US District Judge Haywood Gilliam in Oakland, California, ruled that US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the State Department had failed to follow required rule-making procedures before implementing the fee. The ruling follows a separate decision by a Boston federal judge in June that also blocked the charge. A federal appeals court subsequently declined to pause that ruling.

The latest decision does not permanently eliminate the $100,000 fee. Instead, it blocks the agencies from implementing the fee while the underlying legal challenge proceeds.

Why the ruling matters to Indian IT professionals

The development is particularly significant for Indians because they account for the largest share of H-1B beneficiaries.

USCIS data show that people born in India accounted for 283,755, or 71%, of all H-1B petitions approved in fiscal 2024. China was a distant second with 46,722 approvals, or 11.7%. For initial employment alone, Indian beneficiaries accounted for 80,449 approvals, or 57% of the total.

That means any major change in the cost or availability of new H-1B visas can have a disproportionate effect on Indian professionals seeking to work in the US.

The immediate significance of Wednesday's ruling is that the $100,000 charge cannot simply be treated as an uncontested new cost for employers seeking to sponsor affected workers while the litigation continues. The legal status of the fee, however, remains unresolved.

What it means for Indian tech workers

For Indian IT professionals, the ruling could ease some of the uncertainty surrounding US job opportunities that require new H-1B sponsorship.

The H-1B programme is widely used by technology companies to recruit foreign professionals in specialised occupations. The programme provides for 65,000 regular visas each fiscal year, plus 20,000 additional visas for people with qualifying advanced US degrees.

The $100,000 charge represented a dramatic increase from the typical H-1B fee burden, which Reuters reported had generally been around $2,000 to $5,000, depending on the circumstances.

Because employers generally bear the visa-related costs, the increase could affect companies' decisions about whether to sponsor workers from overseas.

The latest ruling therefore removes, at least for now, one major cost uncertainty for employers considering new H-1B hires. It does not, however, guarantee that an individual Indian applicant will receive an H-1B visa.

US tech companies also get temporary relief

The ruling is important for US technology companies because the H-1B programme is a major channel through which they recruit specialised foreign talent.

A $100,000 charge could substantially alter the economics of sponsoring a new worker, particularly for employers that sponsor large numbers of employees. The court's decision means companies challenging the fee have another legal ruling supporting their argument that the administration did not follow the required rule-making process.

The US Chamber of Commerce has separately challenged the fee, while a coalition of unions, employers and nonprofits brought the case before Judge Gilliam.

For companies, however, the latest ruling should be viewed as temporary legal relief rather than a final resolution. The litigation over Trump's authority to impose the fee remains active.

$103,000 permanent fee could create another battle

Another important factor is the administration's separate effort to establish a permanent H-1B fee of about $103,000.

The Department of Homeland Security moved in August to adopt that charge. If finalised, it is expected to face another round of legal challenges. Reuters noted that those cases would involve different legal questions from the lawsuits surrounding Trump's existing $100,000 fee.

In other words, Wednesday's ruling does not necessarily settle the broader question of whether a six-figure H-1B charge could eventually become part of the US immigration system.

What happens to existing H-1B holders?

The latest case concerns the new H-1B fee, rather than ending the H-1B programme itself.

For Indian professionals who already hold H-1B status, the ruling therefore does not by itself change the basic validity of their existing visas. The H-1B programme continues to allow US employers to temporarily employ foreign professionals in specialised occupations.

The more immediate issue is the cost and conditions attached to new H-1B applications and sponsorship.

Trump administration still pursuing H-1B changes

The administration has defended the fee as part of a broader effort to reshape the H-1B programme.

Trump has said the programme has been abused by companies that replace American workers with cheaper foreign labour. His administration has also introduced enhanced vetting of H-1B applicants and proposed a selection system that would favour higher-skilled and higher-paid workers.

Trump recently extended the $100,000 fee for another year after it had been due to expire on September 21.