Court vacates the $100,000 H-1B fee — but a stay keeps it in effect pending appeal

On June 8, 2026, Judge Leo Sorokin of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated the $100,000 fee that had been imposed on certain new H-1B petitions, holding that it exceeded executive authority and violated the Administrative Procedure Act and separation-of-powers principles — reasoning that Congress, not the Executive Branch, sets fees of this magnitude.

The relief was short-lived. Within days the court stayed its own decision, and the government moved the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit for a stay pending appeal (filed June 18, 2026). The effect: USCIS is once again permitted to collect the fee while the appeal proceeds.

As of early July 2026, the $100,000 fee still applies to petitions for initial H-1B status that require consular processing — i.e., where the worker must obtain the visa at a U.S. consulate abroad before entering. The fee does not apply to extensions or changes of status for workers already in the United States. This status is unsettled and could change again depending on the First Circuit's ruling.