This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Hung-Lin Lai, 34, the CEO of Lai & Turner Law Firm PLLC, who lives in Oklahoma. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
When a federal ruling struck down the $100,000 H-1B fee on Monday, I was relieved.
Many lawyers were optimistic this would be the result, based on a previous Supreme Court ruling that struck down Trump’s tariffs. I felt the administration’s immigration decision similarly bypassed regular lawmaking, so it was unlikely to remain in place.
However, the battle’s not over. The Trump administration can appeal this decision, and other legal challenges to the H-1B fee are still moving through the courts. The judges might agree with this decision, or rule in the opposite direction, creating what’s called a “circuit split.” We have to wait and see what happens, as a decision about this fee could make its way to the Supreme Court.
The ruling is helpful for small businesses who want to recruit and hire foreign talent
The H-1B fee impacted small and medium-sized businesses, like mine, who can’t afford to pay $100,000 to hire a foreign worker, while for big companies like Amazon and Facebook, it’s the cost of doing business.
One prospective client abandoned sponsoring someone for an H-1B visa after finding out they’d need to pay the fee. I think most business owners would rather invest $100,000 into their company than pay it to the government.
As an employer, I was lucky to hire someone on the H-1B visa before the $100,000 fee came into effect. But we want to sponsor more people who are abroad. Earlier this year, I entered a virtual staff member in the lottery, but told her that if she were picked and the fee was still in place, I wouldn’t be in a position to pay that amount.
Unfortunately, she hasn’t been selected, so that point is moot, but this recent ruling makes me more willing to sponsor foreign team members in the future. However, this could still be costly, because the ruling doesn’t impact last year’s changes to the lottery system favoring applicants with a higher wage. This means I may have to submit an application in a higher wage tier to give candidates a better chance of being selected.
I’m still discussing with colleagues how this ruling might impact applicants to the lottery for the 2027 fiscal year, and whether there’s a way the $100,000 could still apply to them. Currently, the $100,000 fee is no longer required for current applications. I think we’ll see the ruling impact the following year’s lottery. If the $100,000 fee still does not apply, we might see an uptick in small and medium-sized businesses like ours being willing to submit petitions.
It’s helpful for businesses our size, so that we can recruit and hire foreign talent, rather than just the Amazons and Facebooks being able to hire these individuals.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Business Insider the ruling was “blatant judicial activism.”
The spokesperson added: “The recent changes to the H-1B visa program, including the increased fee, are intended to address concerns about program integrity and the impact on the U.S. workforce. The policy aims to ensure that employers prioritize hiring U.S. workers, particularly in high-skilled fields. The Trump Administration remains committed to safeguarding opportunities for American workers and maintaining the integrity of employment-based visa programs.”
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