BOSTON – A federal appeals court on July 23 rejected a bid by US President Donald Trump’s administration to halt a judge’s order which prevented it from imposing a US$100,000 (S$129,000) fee on new H-1B visas for highly skilled ‌foreign workers.

The Boston-based 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals declined to put on hold a lower court judge’s June 8 ruling in a lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic state attorneys general, striking down the fee on the basis that it constituted an unlawful tax Congress never authorised.

The three-judge panel, composed only of appointees of Democratic presidents, said the Trump administration failed to show it was likely on appeal to succeed in showing it had not exceeded its authority by imposing the fee.

The US president issued a proclamation in September that raised the cost of obtaining H-1B visas, which tech companies rely heavily on to bring on foreign workers.

The H-1B programme offers 65,000 visas annually, with another 20,000 visas for workers with advanced degrees, approved for three to six years.

Employers seeking a visa for a foreign worker before Trump’s move typically paid about US$2,000 to US$5,000 in fees depending on various factors.

Trump, in imposing the hefty new fee, said the H-1B programme “has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labour”.

The fee does not apply to visas granted to foreign citizens already in ⁠the US on student visas, who generally make up a large share of new H-1B recipients.

Few employers have paid Trump’s fee since it was instituted.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REUTERS

Appeals court rejects Trump bid to halt $129,000 skilled visa fee ruling