Press Release  AG Campbell Secures Victory In Lawsuit Challenging Trump Administration’s Unlawful $100k Tax For H-1B Visas

Boston — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today celebrated a final ruling from the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts finding unlawful and vacating the Trump Administration’s policy imposing a $100,000 tax on new H-1B visa petitions.  

H-1B visas alleviate nationwide labor shortages by allowing U.S. employers to hire highly skilled foreign nationals for roles that require specialized knowledge and training, including positions as teachers, physicians, researchers, and nurses. The tax created a costly barrier for employers, weakened the economy, and threatened to disrupt essential services, especially for public sector and government employers trying to fill these positions. AG Campbell co-led a multistate coalition in challenging the policy late last year.  

“Today’s victory protects the integrity of the H-1B visa program as a tool to address severe labor shortages in vital industries like education, healthcare, and medical research. In Massachusetts, this win will ensure we can fill critical vacancies and hire world-class faculty and researchers at colleges and universities across the Commonwealth,” said AG Campbell. “I will continue to stand up for our residents and fight back against unlawful federal policies that harm our state and economy.” 

The H-1B visa program allows employers to petition for highly skilled foreign workers to temporarily fill positions in specialty occupations that require at least a bachelor’s degree. In petitioning for an H-1B worker, the employer must submit an application, certified by the U.S. Department of Labor, that employment of the H-1B worker will not negatively affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers. 

Since its inception, the H-1B visa program has been continually tailored by Congress to carry out its purpose of meeting employers’ labor needs while protecting the interests of American workers to ensure that they are not wrongfully displaced. Congress has repeatedly enhanced enforcement and increased penalties to prevent misuse of the program. Congress has also carefully regulated the fees applicable to H-1B petitions. Given its careful structure, the H-1B program has proven to be massively beneficial to the United States. The program has been especially important to state and local governments faced with worker shortages in critical fields like education and healthcare, which have turned to H-1B visas in order to provide for the basic needs of residents. H-1B workers and their dependents contribute $86 billion annually to the economy and pay $35 billion in federal and payroll taxes, on top of $11 billion in state and local taxes. 

On September 19, 2025, President Trump issued a proclamation ordering an unprecedented $100,000 tax payment for new H-1B visa petitions, undermining the very purpose of the H-1B visa by making it harder to address severe labor shortages and ultimately worsening the staffing crisis.  

The $100,000 visa tax was devastating for all states and threatened the quality of education, healthcare, and other core services available across the country. The K-12 schools, colleges, and universities hiring these educators are generally government or non-profit entities incapable of absorbing an additional $100,000 for each H-1B hire. Hospitals and other health care centers also rely on the H-1B visa program to hire physicians, surgeons, and nurses, often times in low-income and working-class neighborhoods. Nearly 17,000 H-1B visas went to workers in medicine and health occupations in the 2024 fiscal year, and half of those were physicians and surgeons. Without foreign-trained physicians, the United States projects a shortfall of 86,000 physicians by 2036.  

In Massachusetts, the University of Massachusetts sponsors more than 340 H-1B faculty, staff, and researchers. 

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