A federal judge in the U.S. District of Massachusetts has struck down the Administration’s $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications for individuals who are outside the country. The judge called the fee an unlawful tax that was not authorized in statute by Congress and rejected the Administration’s characterization of the payment as a penalty. We expect the Administration to appeal.
His ruling directly contradicts an earlier ruling by a DC Circuit judge that heard a different challenge to the fee but upheld it. We anticipate that the plaintiff in this case will use the Massachusetts ruling to appeal.
In a separate case, a federal judge overturned the Administration’s suspension of asylum applications and freeze on immigration applications for individuals who are from countries that are impacted by the Administration’s travel ban.
The Administration’s had also made an announcement that they planned to require most green card applicants to apply through a U.S. consulate outside the country. After concerns were raised about workforce impacts, there have been private assurances that most work visas would not require applicants to leave the country. However, the Administration has not amended its notice or provided any public updates to the policy.
ACEC National continues to expect the Department of Homeland Security to propose changes to optional practical training (OPT), based on a response to Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) earlier this year. At this point there are no details on what that might look like but we will keep you updated.