A US federal judge on Monday struck down the $100,000 fee that President Donald Trump had imposed on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, calling it unlawful.
Judge's ruling
District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston issued a ruling in a lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic state attorneys general challenging the fee announced by Trump in September that significantly increased the cost of H-1B visas, as reported by Reuters.
Background of the fee
Trump, in September last year, signed a proclamation introducing a $100,000 annual fee for fresh H-1B visa applications, along with other changes to the skilled foreign worker programme. The move marked a significant tightening of the H-1B system, which was originally designed to attract highly skilled foreign professionals for specialised technical roles.
Over time, the programme has increasingly been used by companies to hire workers at comparatively lower wages, particularly in the technology sector, according to reports.
