United States: District Court Temporarily Stays Order Vacating $100,000 H-1B Fee
June 12, 2026
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At a glance
- A Massachusetts district court has temporarily paused its June 8 order vacating the $100,000 H-1B proclamation fee policy; the pause will remain in place until an appeals court can rule on the government’s anticipated request for a stay of the June 8 vacate decision.
- The district court has given the government until June 18 to file its request with the appeals court or the lower court’s vacate order will be reinstated.
- For the time being, USCIS is permitted to require the $100,000 fee for approval of H-1B petitions that are filed for or are only approvable for consular notification.
- The status of the fee could change quickly as litigation actions proceed; employers should monitor developments with immigration counsel.
The issue
Today, a federal district court in Massachusetts temporarily stayed its June 8 ruling that vacated the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policy implementing the $100,000 H-1B fee created by President Trump’s September 19 presidential proclamation. The district court is briefly staying its June 8 vacate order until the First Circuit Court of Appeals has the opportunity to rule on the government’s anticipated request for a stay of the vacate order. The government must file its stay request with the First Circuit by June 18 in order for the district court vacate ruling to remain paused.
Today’s district court decision was issued on the same day the government filed an appeal of the June 8 district court vacate decision; it is anticipated that the government will seek a stay of the vacate order while the appeal is pending. The appeals case is State of California, et al. v. Mullin, et al., Docket No. 26-01699 (1st Cir., Jun 12, 2026).
Following today’s district court order, USCIS is now permitted to require the $100,000 fee for approval of any H-1B petition that is filed for or only approvable for consular notification. It is anticipated that the government will seek a stay of the June 8 district court vacate order by the required June 18 deadline. The First Circuit decision on the government’s stay request will then determine whether the $100,000 fee can be collected by USCIS while the government’s appeal proceeds.
Background
On June 8, the federal district court in Massachusetts vacated the $100,000 H-1B fee policy in its entirety, taking the position that the fee amounts to a tax, for which a presidential proclamation and agency implementation was not a proper exercise of power. The court also declared the policy to be in excess of statutory authority, procedurally deficient, and arbitrary and capricious, and therefore, unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The district court granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs, meaning that, for the time being, USCIS was not permitted to collect the $100,000 fee from H-1B employers. The district court case is State of California et al. v Markwayne Mullin, et al., Case No., 1:25-cv-13829 (D. Mass., filed Dec. 12, 2025).
What’s next
Unless and until a contrary court order is issued or unless the government misses the June 18 filing deadline for a stay request, USCIS is permitted to require the $100,000 fee for the approval of H-1B petitions that are filed for or only approvable for consular notification. It is expected that there will be further litigation developments and swift implementation changes regarding the $100,000 fee with little or no notice, so employers should stay in close contact with immigration counsel.
Fragomen is closely following the litigation challenging the presidential proclamation and any impact on implementation. We will provide updates as developments occur.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.
