Updates on the two lawsuits against the $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions

On December 23, 2025, a district court judge in the District of Columbia denied the US Chamber of Commerce's motion for a preliminary injunction or summary judgement against the presidential proclamation creating a $100,000 fee for certain new H-1B petitions. This lawsuit is Chamber of Commerce v. DHS, and is the second of two pending lawsuits.

An earlier filed lawsuit, Global Nurse Force v. Trump, remains pending with the district court in the Northern District of California. Multiple states have joined an amicus brief supporting plaintiffs in the Global Nurse Force lawsuit, to ask the judge to temporarily block the new $100,000 fee on certain new H-1B visa petitions. Among other things, the states and other plaintiffs argue that the fee excludes nonprofits and schools that are unable to afford the $100,000 fee from hiring H-1B nonimmigrants. The amicus brief includes the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

On December 29, 2025, plaintiffs in the Chamber of Commerce case filed an appeal of the district court decision to the Circuit Court of Appeals.