A United States District Court in Massachusetts has vacated a Trump administration policy that increased H-1B visa application fees to $100,000, designating the levy as an unauthorized tax.

美國麻薩塞諸州的一家地方法院廢除了川普政府將 H-1B 簽證申請費提高至 10 萬美元的一項政策，將該項徵費定義為未經授權的稅收。

The judicial determination, rendered by Judge Leo Sorokin, posits that the executive branch exceeded its statutory authority by implementing a financial requirement without congressional ratification. This ruling aligns with previous judicial precedents regarding the invalidation of executive tariffs, asserting that the fee functioned as a tax rather than a regulatory penalty. Consequently, the court found the administration in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. This decision creates a judicial divergence, as a prior ruling in Washington D.C. had upheld the fee, thereby establishing a potential circuit split that may necessitate Supreme Court intervention.

由法官 Leo Sorokin 做出之司法判定認為，行政部門在未經國會批准的情況下實施財務要求，已超出其法定權限。此裁決與先前關於廢除行政關稅的司法先例一致，認定該費用在功能上屬於稅收而非監管罰款。因此，法院認定政府違反了《行政程序法》。由於先前華盛頓特區的一項裁決支持該費用，此決定造成了司法分歧，從而形成了潛在的巡迴法院分歧，可能需要最高法院介入。

Stakeholder positioning reveals a fragmented political landscape. The executive branch, via the Department of Homeland Security and White House spokespersons, characterized the ruling as 'judicial activism' and maintained that the fee was necessary to preserve program integrity and prioritize the domestic workforce. Conversely, a broad coalition including twenty state attorneys general and various members of Congress—including several Republicans—supported the invalidation. These legislators argued that the prohibitive cost would disproportionately incapacitate rural healthcare systems and academic institutions, which rely on international professionals to mitigate critical staffing deficits.

利益相關者的立場顯示出政治版圖的碎片化。行政部門透過國土安全部與白宮發言人，將此裁決形容為「司法能動主義」，並堅持該費用對於維護計劃完整性及優先考慮本土勞動力是必要的。相反，包括 20 位州總檢察長及多位國會議員（包括數名共和黨人）在內的廣泛聯盟支持廢除該費用。這些立法者主張，過高的成本將使依賴國際專業人士以緩解嚴重人手短缺的鄉村醫療系統與學術機構遭受不成比例的打擊。

Economic implications are particularly acute for the Indian professional demographic, which constitutes approximately 70% of H-1B beneficiaries. The restoration of standard filing fees, typically ranging from $2,000 to $5,000, is expected to facilitate a rapprochement between U.S. employers and high-skilled foreign talent. While large-scale technology corporations possessed the capital to absorb the $100,000 premium, small and medium-sized enterprises reported that the fee acted as a definitive barrier to recruitment, thereby stifling innovation and competitiveness.

對經濟的影響在印度專業人士群體中尤為顯著，該群體約佔 H-1B 受益者的 70%。恢復標準申請費（通常在 2,000 至 5,000 美元之間）預計將促進美國僱主與高技能外國人才之間的關係回暖。雖然大型科技公司擁有足以吸收 10 萬美元溢價的資本，但中小型企業報告稱，該費用構成了招聘的決定性障礙，從而抑制了創新與競爭力。

The $100,000 fee is currently suspended nationwide, although the administration has signaled its intent to pursue an appeal in the appellate courts.

該 10 萬美元費用目前在全國範圍內暫停執行，儘管政府已表示有意向上訴法院提起上訴。