Authored by Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times,
A second federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from imposing a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas, which allow U.S. companies to hire high-skilled foreign workers.
U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam, based in Oakland, California, determined that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the State Department did not adhere to proper federal rule-making processes before the implementation of the fee went into effect.
In the 35-page decision, Gilliam on Sept. 30 blocked the agencies from implementing the fee ordered by President Donald Trump in a Sept. 9, 2025, presidential proclamation. The block will remain in place until the federal rule-making process has been followed, the judge ordered, including a formal proposal for a rule change and a standard 30- to 60-day period for public comment.
In the initial lawsuit, the plaintiffs - a coalition of unions, employers, and nonprofit organizations - requested the court block the administration from imposing the new fee and require federal agencies to process H-1B visas in accordance with existing law.
They argued in a lawsuit that Trump has no authority to unilaterally impose fees, taxes, or other mechanisms to generate revenue for the United States.
"Here, the President disregarded those limitations, asserted power he does not have, and displaced a complex, Congressiona
