H-1B $100,000 Fee Blocked: What the Court Ruling Means (2026)

Client Alert · USCIS / Federal Courts · H-1B

A federal appeals court has left in place the decision striking down the $100,000 H-1B fee. On July 24, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit declined to stay the ruling that vacated the fee — meaning U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) currently has no lawful basis to collect it on H-1B petitions. The appeal on the merits continues, a separate case upholding the fee is still pending in Washington, D.C., and USCIS has not yet updated its filing instructions — so treat this as an open window, not a settled outcome.

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Who is not affected

If you are already working in the United States in H-1B status, extension, amendment, and change-of-employer petitions were generally outside the scope of the fee, and beneficiaries who hold a valid H-1B visa were generally not covered either. U.S. citizens, green card holders, and workers in other statuses such as L-1, O-1, or TN are not affected at all. One caution before you relax: a petition filed inside the U.S. could still have fallen within scope if the requested change of status was denied or the beneficiary departed the United States before adjudication — which is why travel decisions carry real weight in these cases.

What was the $100,000 fee?

A presidential proclamation effective September 21, 2025 imposed a $100,000 payment obligation on certain new H-1B petitions. In practice, it fell mainly on petitions for beneficiaries who are abroad and do not hold a valid H-1B visa — filings that would be approved for consular notification. By its own terms, the proclamation is scheduled to expire on September 21, 2026, unless it is extended or made permanent through regulation.

How the courts got here

June 8, 2026: A federal district court in Massachusetts granted summary judgment to the plaintiff states and vacated the agency policy implementing the fee in its entirety, holding that the payment amounted to a tax Congress never authorized and that the policy violated the Administrative Procedure Act. The proclamation itself stayed on the books — what fell was the policy carrying it out. The case is State of California v. Mullin, No. 1:25-cv-13829 (D. Mass., filed December 12, 2025).

June 12, 2026: The district court denied a full stay pending appeal and granted only a short administrative pause, conditioned on the government filing its stay motion in the First Circuit by June 18. USCIS kept collecting the fee during that window — the source of the conflicting signals employers saw through June and July.

And this is not the only case. In a separate suit brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a federal district court in Washington, D.C. upheld the proclamation on December 23, 2025. That decision was argued before the D.C. Circuit in March 2026 and remains undecided, and a third challenge is pending in California. Two federal appeals courts could still land on opposite sides of the same question.

The July 24 ruling decides who bears the cost while the case is litigated — it is not the last word. Plan on the fee being gone today, but leave room for it to come back.

What the First Circuit decided on July 24

The First Circuit found the Administration not likely to succeed in its argument that the district court’s ruling should be overturned, and declined to stay it. The practical effect: the temporary pause lifted, and with the policy vacated, USCIS has no lawful basis to assess the $100,000 fee on H-1B petitions filed now.

What about fees already paid?

That is not yet clear. Nothing has been announced about how the ruling affects employers who already paid, and no refund mechanism exists today. If you paid the fee, preserve everything: payment confirmations, USCIS receipt notices, petition copies, and related correspondence. If a refund process is announced, those records are what will protect your position.

Could the fee come back?

Yes — and quickly. The Administration is expected to continue its appeal on the merits and may seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court, which could restore the fee on short notice; June 12 showed how fast the picture can change. USCIS is also expected to issue updated guidance and H-1B filing instructions, but no timeline has been announced. If you are filing in the meantime, confirm the current instructions before the petition goes out.

What you should do now

• Confirm filing instructions before you send anything. USCIS has not yet published updated H-1B instructions, and a petition submitted with the wrong fee treatment can be rejected.
• Sequence consular notification cases deliberately. These are exactly the filings the fee targeted; timing matters right now.
• Preserve records if you paid. Keep payment confirmations, receipt notices, and petition copies intact in case a refund process is announced.
• Revisit hires shelved over the fee — but check the cap. The FY2027 H-1B cap was reached on July 17, 2026 with no second lottery, so a new cap-subject filing waits for the March 2027 registration. Cap-exempt employers, selected FY2027 registrants, and beneficiaries previously counted against the cap can move now.
• Budget cautiously. The ruling is not final; avoid commitments that assume sponsorship costs are permanently back to zero.
• For workers: re-open paused offers, but don’t rush travel. Whether your case proceeds as a change of status inside the U.S. or through a consulate directly affects your exposure — confirm before you book anything, and don’t act on headlines alone.

How Ozek Law Firm can help

Ozek Law Firm advises employers and H-1B professionals on exactly these decisions — confirming current USCIS filing instructions, sequencing consular notification cases, documenting fees already paid, and planning sponsorships around the cap calendar and the ongoing appeals. If this ruling touches your company’s H-1B program or your own petition, we can review your situation and give you a clear plan before the picture shifts again.

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Ozek Law Firm, LLC · 4500 East West Highway, Suite 150, Bethesda, MD 20814 · +1 (202) 854-8545 · info@ozeklaw.com · www.ozeklaw.com
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This article is provided by Ozek Law Firm, LLC for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship. The law in this area is changing rapidly; information is current as of July 25, 2026, and is based on the First Circuit’s July 24, 2026 order and the district court’s June 8, 2026 decision in State of California v. Mullin, No. 1:25-cv-13829 (D. Mass.). For advice about your specific situation, please consult a licensed immigration attorney.