Federal Court Orders Block $100,000 Fee on New H-1B Petitions

Employers can file H-1B petitions without the $100,000 fee while federal court orders block federal agencies from collecting it. The latest order, issued September 30, 2026, bars implementation unless the government complies with the Administrative Procedure Act.

The California ruling joined a separate case in Massachusetts. Both orders leave the payment requirement unenforceable for now.

A Massachusetts federal district court vacated the policy on June 8, 2026, finding the administration lacked authority to impose the charge in its chosen form. The government appealed.

On July 24, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit declined to pause that ruling while the appeal proceeds. The vacatur therefore remained operative.

President Donald J. Trump then issued Presidential Proclamation 11069 on September 18. It sought to extend the restriction through September 21, 2027.

The proclamation did not displace the existing court rulings. USCIS has indicated that DHS intends to collect the payment if the applicable order is lifted.

Employers can omit the payment across several petition types

The current orders allow employers to submit petitions without the added charge, including cases for beneficiaries abroad who need consular processing. The covered filing routes also include requests for consular notification, port-of-entry notification, pre-flight inspection or pre-clearance.

Employers can also file new cap-subject cases, including petitions for workers changing from another U.S. status, such as F-1 to H-1B. The court orders likewise cover petitions for beneficiaries already in the United States.

That includes an extension, amendment, change of employer or change of status. Cap-exempt petitions, such as those for qualifying university or research organization employment, can proceed without the payment as well.

The ruling changes the payment obligation, not the merits review. Each petition still must meet applicable H-1B requirements.

The court rulings did not erase ordinary filing charges

Employers must continue paying the ordinary USCIS charges that apply to a case. Those may include:

• The Form I-129 filing fee.
• The Asylum Program Fee, where applicable.
• The ACWIA training fee, unless the employer qualifies for an exemption.
• The Fraud Prevention and Detection fee, where applicable.
• The Public Law 114-113 fee for certain employers.
• The premium-processing fee, if expedited adjudication is requested and available.

The amount depends on factors such as employer size, nonprofit or educational status, filing type and whether the case is cap-subject or cap-exempt. The court orders remove only the separate payment requirement.

Employers should use the ordinary USCIS fee schedule currently in effect. They should not add the blocked payment unless USCIS formally changes its instructions.

The proclamation initially targeted workers seeking admission from abroad

President Trump issued Presidential Proclamation 10973 on September 19, 2025, establishing the charge for certain new H-1B cases involving workers who needed admission to the United States. The original scope was narrower than the range of filings employers can now submit without payment.

It targeted new petitions for beneficiaries outside the country who lacked a valid H-1B visa or otherwise needed admission based on the petition. Extensions, amendments, employer changes and in-country status changes generally were not covered even before the courts intervened.

The September 30 California order blocks agencies from implementing or enforcing the payment unless they satisfy the Administrative Procedure Act. The Massachusetts case reached a separate result by vacating the policy, and the First Circuit left that decision in place while the appeal continues.

Appeals could change the rules employers follow

The government’s appeal of the Massachusetts decision remains pending. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Association of American Universities have also challenged the policy in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

A later appellate decision, Supreme Court intervention or new agency action could alter the payment rules. The September proclamation’s stated end date does not itself overcome the injunctions now blocking collection.

Employers should retain evidence showing when they filed, the classification requested, the notification procedure selected and the basis for omitting the charge. Those records can establish which instructions and court orders applied at filing.

A separate cap-petition proposal has not taken effect

DHS has separately proposed a $103,265 fee for certain cap-subject H-1B filings. That proposal is not the same as the charge blocked by the courts, and it is not currently an effective filing requirement.

Bo Cooper, an immigration attorney at Fragomen, said the proposed amount would affect employers across industries. He said cap-exempt universities and qualifying research organizations would generally fall outside its scope.

Cooper predicted legal challenges would likely seek preliminary relief before the proposed charge could become due in June 2027. The proposal remains a separate issue from the court cases over the existing payment.

The blocked charge does not guarantee approval. A petition must still satisfy specialty-occupation, wage, LCA, employer-employee relationship, maintenance-of-status and other H-1B requirements.