Indian diaspora groups welcome US court ruling striking down $100,000 H-1B visa fee

Indian diaspora advocacy groups in the United States have welcomed a federal court ruling that struck down the controversial $100,000 fee imposed on new H-1B visa applications, describing the decision as a significant victory for skilled professionals, employers and the broader innovation ecosystem.

The ruling was delivered by US District Judge Leo Sorokin in Massachusetts, who held that the fee introduced by the Trump administration amounted to a tax that lacked congressional authorization and was therefore unlawful. The court invalidated the measure, which had dramatically increased H-1B application costs from the usual range of a few thousand dollars to $100,000.