New York Attorney General Letitia James won a court ruling striking down a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, a policy a federal judge found unlawful.
A U.S. District Court in Massachusetts granted summary judgment in favor of James and a coalition of 19 other attorneys general, vacating the fee imposed by the Trump administration in 2025. The court said the policy, which dramatically increased typical H-1B application costs from several thousand dollars to $100,000, was illegal.
The H-1B visa program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations such as health care, education and technology. States argued the steep fee would have sharply reduced hiring and worsened labor shortages in critical sectors.
“Every day, thousands of people with H-1B visas serve New Yorkers as doctors, teachers, and other skilled workers,” James said in a statement. “Today a court put an end to this administration’s illegal attempt to destroy this critical program.”
New York officials said the impact would have been significant. More than 13,000 H-1B visa holders work across key industries in the state, including health care, technology, finance and the arts. The State University of New York employs nearly 700 H-1B workers, many serving rural and suburban communities.
The state’s health care system, already facing a persistent nursing shortage, relies heavily on immigrant workers, who make up more than one-third of the workforce. Officials warned that limiting H-1B visas would exacerbate those shortages.
The coalition filed suit in December 2025 after the administration announced the fee increase three months earlier. Along with New York, the lawsuit included attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
Kishor Panthi
View More PostsKishor Panthi is the founder and editor-in-chief of Khasokhas and NepYork. He is the author of three books, “Kampan,” "UNTRANSLATABLE" and “Zero Mile.” He writes about social issues, immigration, and politics.
