Trump’s US$100,000 H-1B visa fee is an unlawful tax, judge rules

R ReutersSouth China Morning PostFiled 2026-06-08 · 18:11 GMTLean · Center-RightRead · 1 min

Reading time

1_min

Word count

92_words

Sources cited

1_cited

Entities identified

6_entities

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100_%

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Briefing Summary

AI-generated

NEWSAR · AI

A federal judge in Boston has struck down a $100,000 fee imposed by President Donald Trump on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers. US District Judge Leo Sorokin ruled on Monday that the fee was an unlawful tax, as it was not authorized by Congress. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic state attorneys general who challenged the fee increase announced in September. The H-1B program provides 65,000 visas annually, with an additional 20,000 for workers with advanced degrees.

Confidence 0.85Sources 1Claims 4Entities 6

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Article analysis

Model · rule-based

Framing

Legal & Judicial

Political Strategy

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Measured

AI-assessed

CalmNeutralAlarmist

Factuality

0.90 / 1.00

Factual

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Sources cited

Limited

FewMany

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Key claims

4 extracted

The H-1B program offers 65,000 visas annually, with an additional 20,000 for workers with advanced degrees.

statisticArticle

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1.00

The fee was announced in September and dramatically raised the cost of obtaining H-1B visas.

factualArticle

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The judge concluded the fee constituted an unlawful tax that Congress never authorized.

factualFederal Judge Leo Sorokin

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A federal judge struck down a US$100,000 fee imposed on new H-1B visas by Donald Trump.

factualFederal Judge Leo Sorokin

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Full report

1 min read · 92 words

A federal ⁠judge on Monday ⁠struck down a US$100,000 fee that ⁠US President Donald Trump imposed on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, concluding that it constituted an unlawful tax that Congress never authorised.US District Judge Leo Sorokin ‌in Boston issued the ruling in a lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic state attorneys general challenging a fee Trump announced in September that dramatically raised the cost of obtaining H-1B visas.The H-1B programme offers 65,000 visas annually, with another 20,000 visas for ⁠workers with advanced degrees, approved for three to six years.

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