Federal Court Blocks Trump Administration’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee

On June 8,  a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts struck down the Trump Administration’s $100,000 payment requirement for new H-1B visa petitions, ruling that the charge amounts to an unconstitutional tax that Congress never authorized. The policy originated with Presidential Proclamation 10973, signed September 19, 2025, which invoked the President’s authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to impose a $100,000 supplemental payment on new H-1B petitions filed for beneficiaries outside the United States. In a lawsuit brought by twenty states, Judge Leo Sorokin found that the fee functions as a tax rather than a permissible entry restriction and that the administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act by implementing the policy without notice-and-comment rulemaking. The court vacated the policy in its entirety.

ASE has consistently opposed this policy because of its potential harm to the physician workforce and patient care. On September 25, 2025, ASE joined an American Medical Association letter to the Department of Homeland Security urging guidance to exempt H-1B physicians from the Proclamation, noting that these physicians are critical to addressing the U.S. physician shortage and frequently practice in underserved and rural communities. ASE also joined a coalition letter requesting an exception to the policy and later sent a letter of support for the H-1Bs for Physicians and the Healthcare Workforce Act (H.R. 7961), legislation introduced to protect physician access to the program. Recruitment and retention of the cardiac ultrasound workforce remains a core ASE legislative priority, and the Society will continue to advocate for the echocardiography workforce and the patients it serves.

Members should note that this ruling may not be the final word. The Trump Administration has stated it intends to appeal, and a separate federal court in Washington, D.C., previously upheld a nearly identical fee in a case brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that is itself now on appeal. An appeal would proceed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and the government could also seek to keep the fee in place during the appeal. ASE will continue to monitor these developments closely and will keep members informed as the situation evolves.