Attorney General Ford Secures Final Judgment in Lawsuit Challenging Trump Administration’s Unlawful $100k Tax for H-1B Visas

Carson City, NV - Attorney General Aaron D. Ford today celebrated a landmark final ruling from the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts striking down and vacating the Trump administration's unlawful policy imposing a $100,000 tax on new H-1B visa petitions. H-1B visas enable U.S. employers to recruit highly skilled foreign nationals - including teachers, physicians, researchers, and nurses - to fill critical roles and ease nationwide labor shortages. The tax erected a prohibitive financial barrier for employers, undermined economic growth, and gutted essential services, particularly for public sector and government employers struggling to fill critical vacancies. Attorney General Ford joined a multistate coalition to challenge the policy late last year.

"Today's ruling is a decisive win for Nevada's economy and for the businesses and communities that depend on it. H-1B workers contribute $86 billion annually to our national economy and pay more than $46 billion in federal, state, and local taxes. They are an economic engine, not a burden," said Attorney General Aaron Ford. "The Trump administration's reckless $100,000 tax would have devastated employers across Nevada, driven up costs, deepened our healthcare and education staffing crises, and ultimately hurt everyday Nevadans who rely on those services. This was economically indefensible, and I am proud we stopped it."

The H-1B visa program allows employers to petition for highly skilled foreign workers to temporarily fill specialty occupations requiring at least a bachelor's degree. Every H-1B petition must be certified by the U.S. Department of Labor, confirming that hiring the foreign worker will not negatively affect the wages or working conditions of similarly employed American workers, a foundational protection built into the program from the start.

Congress caps H-1B visas at 65,000 annually for most private employers, with an additional 20,000 reserved for individuals holding a master's degree or higher. Government agencies and nonprofit research organizations are exempt from this cap to ensure they can fulfill their public service missions. Over decades, Congress has continuously refined the program - strengthening enforcement, increasing penalties, and adjusting fee structures -to protect American workers while meeting genuine labor market needs.

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, increased penalties, and legislated on fees for H-1B petitions to prevent misuse of the program.

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 in critical fields such as education and healthcare and ultimately worsening the staffing crisis. As implemented by DHS through a series of written documents, the policy affected any application filed after September 21, 2025, and granted the Secretary of Homeland Security broad discretion to determine which petitions are subject to the fee or for an exemption, raising concerns that the enforcement could be applied selectively against employers disfavored by the Trump Administration. The $100,000 visa tax was devastating for all states, including Nevada, and threatened the quality of education, healthcare, and other core services available to our residents.

###