A United States District Judge has cancelled a presidential order that created a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications, ruling that the charge was an illegal tax.

一名美國地區法官取消了一項總統令，該命令原先為 H-1B 簽證申請設立 10 萬美元的費用，法官裁定該項收費屬於非法稅收。

The decision was made by Judge Leo Sorokin of the Massachusetts District Court after a legal challenge from a group of 20 states. The court concluded that the $100,000 requirement, introduced in September 2025, acted as a tax rather than a standard administrative fee. Consequently, the judge asserted that the president exceeded his legal authority, as only Congress has the power to create taxes. Furthermore, Judge Sorokin emphasized that the administration failed to follow the required legal process for creating new rules.

此決定是由麻薩諸塞州地區法院的 Leo Sorokin 法官在 20 個州的法律挑戰後做出的。法院認定 2025 年 9 月引入的 10 萬美元要求，實際上是一種稅收而非標準的行政費用。因此，法官主張總統超越了其法律權限，因為只有國會才有權制定稅收。此外，Sorokin 法官強調，行政部門未能遵守制定新規則所需的法律程序。

The H-1B program allows U.S. companies to hire foreign professionals in specialized jobs. Before this order, application fees were usually between $2,000 and $5,000. The administration argued that the high fee was necessary to protect American workers from being replaced by cheaper foreign labor, which they claimed was a threat to the national economy. However, the states argued that this fee would make labor shortages worse in healthcare and education.

H-1B 計畫允許美國公司聘僱外國專業人士擔任專門職位。在此命令之前，申請費用通常在 2,000 至 5,000 美元之間。行政部門辯稱，高額費用對於保護美國工人免於被更廉價的外國勞工取代是必要的，他們聲稱這對國家經濟構成威脅。然而，各州則主張該費用將使醫療保健和教育領域的勞動力短缺問題更加惡化。

Data showed that the policy had a negative impact, as very few companies paid the fee. While the administration tried to justify the cost using a previous court case, Judge Sorokin disagreed. He based his decision on a recent Supreme Court ruling that limits the president's power to impose financial charges during national emergencies.

數據顯示該政策產生了負面影響，因為極少有公司支付此費用。儘管行政部門試圖利用之前的法院案例來證明成本的合理性，但 Sorokin 法官並不認同。他將裁決基於最高法院近期的一項裁定，該裁定限制了總統在國家緊急狀態期間強加財務收費的權力。

The $100,000 fee has been completely removed, although the administration has stated that it plans to appeal the decision.

10 萬美元的費用已被完全取消，儘管行政部門表示計劃對此決定提出上訴。