Overview
- A federal judge in Massachusetts vacated the $100,000 fee, which he ruled functioned as an unauthorized tax and whose implementation violated the Administrative Procedure Act, in a decision issued on June 8.
- The same court issued an administrative stay on June 12 that temporarily lets USCIS continue collecting the fee while the Department of Justice appeals to the First Circuit.
- The government must seek formal relief from the First Circuit by a near‑term deadline to keep the stay in place and prevent the district court’s vacatur from taking effect again.
- Conflicting lower‑court rulings, including a D.C. district court that upheld the fee, create a likely circuit split that could require appellate consolidation or Supreme Court review.
- The charge applies only to new H‑1B petitions for beneficiaries needing consular processing, and employers face unresolved questions about refunds, filing strategy and whether to budget for the $100,000 payment as litigation proceeds.