On June 8, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts (Sorokin, J.) invalidated the $100,000 payment requirement that Proclamation 10973 imposed on certain H-1B petitions in September 2025. Granting summary judgment to a coalition of twenty states, the court held that the payment is, in substance, an unauthorized tax.
The court reasoned that the payment is a tax rather than a penalty because hiring H-1B workers remains lawful, and that INA §§ 212(f) and 215(a)—which authorize the President to impose “restrictions,” “rules,” “limitations,” and “exceptions” on the entry of noncitizens—do not, by their ordinary meaning, include the power to tax. Applying the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, the court found that Congress had not clearly delegated its taxing power and that the Policy was therefore ultra vires. The court also confirmed that the states had standing, that the consular-nonreviewability doctrine did not bar their forward-looking challenge, and that the agencies’ implementation was reviewable under the APA.
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If you have any questions please contact: Anthony F. Siliato, Scott R. Malyk, or Stacey A. Simon.