“Here, the substance and application of the $100,000 payment reveal that it is a tax, regardless of what the payment is called.”
Vacating the president’s imposition of a $100,000 fee on employers submitting petitions for new H-1B visas, a federal district court in Massachusetts determined that the fee amounted to a tax that Congress had not given the president the authority to impose. The court found that the government had failed to show that Congress delegated its taxing power to the president through the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Further, the court held that although the action appeared to carry out powers delegated to the president by the INA—in this case creating an entry restriction—the proclamation went beyond the scope of the president’s discretionary authority, rejecting the government’s argument that the issuance of the policy amounted to an unreviewable presidential action (State of California v. Mullin, No. 25-13829-LTS (D. Mass. June 8, 2026)).
On September 19, 2025, the president signed Proclamation 10973, adding a $100,000 supplemental payment requirement to all H-1B visas petitions. Prior to the proclamation, the cost of H-1B visa petitions totaled somewhere between $960 and $7,595 in regulatory and statutory fees.
Lawsuit. Subsequently, the plaintiff states filed this lawsuit asserting four causes of action: (1) a violation of the APA’s procedural requirements; (2) a violation of the APA for an agency action in excess of statutory authority;...
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has rejected claims she supports the White Australia policy, saying she has “never ever” advocated for it. Speaking from London, Ms Hanson responded to criticism t...