Two federal courts have set aside the government's rules for collecting the $100,000 H-1B payment, and DHS says it is following the court order. The payment is not in effect today, but it is not gone: the proclamation was renewed to September 21, 2027, the appeals are not decided, and DHS says it still plans to collect the payment if the order is lifted.
In September 2025, Proclamation 10973 required a $100,000 payment with certain new H-1B petitions filed on or after September 21, 2025. USCIS applies it mainly to workers who are outside the United States without a valid H-1B visa. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the State Department put it into effect through ten actions, such as FAQs and a revised fee schedule. The courts call these actions “the Policy.”
On June 8, 2026, a federal court in Massachusetts ruled for twenty states in State of California v. Mullin. It found that the payment works as a tax, and that the immigration law does not clearly give the President Congress’s power to tax. It declared the Policy unlawful and vacated (cancelled) it “in its entirety.” The court then paused its own order while the government asked the appeals court for a stay.
On July 24, 2026, the First Circuit refused to pause the ruling during the appeal. It said the government had not made a “strong showing” that it is likely to win. USCIS’s H-1B page says DHS disagrees but “will comply with the court’s order while DHS considers next steps,” and that “If this order is later lifted, DHS still plans to collect the payment.”
On September 18, 2026, Proclamation 11069 extended the restriction for 12 more months, to September 21, 2027. On September 30, 2026, a federal court in California (Global Nurse Force v. Trump) also set aside the agencies’ policies, under both proclamations, and ordered the agencies not to enforce them until they complete public notice-and-comment rulemaking and an analysis of the impact on small businesses. That court did not decide whether the proclamation itself is lawful. The government has appealed to the Ninth Circuit.
The other side: in December 2025, a federal court in Washington, D.C. (Chamber of Commerce v. DHS) found that the proclamation and its implementation are lawful. That appeal is pending in the D.C. Circuit, and no decision had been posted as of November 1, 2026. The California court wrote that the Supreme Court “is likely to eventually provide further clarity.”
Refunds: USCIS’s H-1B pages do not describe any refund process for employers who paid (checked November 1, 2026).
A 2025 presidential proclamation said employers must pay $100,000 to file certain new H-1B petitions. USCIS says it covers a petition filed on or after September 21, 2025 for a worker who is outside the United States and does not have a valid H-1B visa. It also covers a petition that asks for consular notification, port-of-entry notification or pre-flight inspection.
For people already in the United States, it depends on the result. If the petition asks for a change of status, an extension or an amendment, and USCIS grants it, no payment is due. If USCIS decides the person is not eligible for the change (for example, they are not in valid status, or they left the United States before USCIS decided), USCIS says the payment applies. A worker whose change of status was granted does not owe the payment later just because they travel and apply for a visa on the approved petition.
Courts have blocked the payment twice. In June, a court in Massachusetts said the payment is really a tax, and Congress did not clearly give the President power to tax through the immigration law. In September, a court in California said the agencies skipped the public notice-and-comment process and did not consider other options or the employers who relied on the old rules. Both courts set aside the agencies’ rules for collecting the payment.
The fight is not over. The proclamation itself is still in place and was renewed to September 2027. A court in Washington, D.C. upheld it. Three appeals courts (the First, Ninth and D.C. Circuits) still have to rule, and the Supreme Court may decide in the end. If the court orders are lifted, DHS says it plans to collect the payment.
This is general information, not legal advice. It describes active court cases that can change quickly. Talk to an immigration attorney about your own situation.