President Donald Trump violated the separation of powers when he announced a new $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications last September, a federal judge in Boston ruled on Monday. Trump's policy "imposes a tax on H-1B petitions without the requisite delegation by Congress," wrote U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin, a Barack Obama appointee. He also concluded that the policy violated the Administrative Procedure Act because it exceeded the president's statutory authority and was implemented in an "arbitrary and capricious" manner.
Sorokin's decision, which completely vacates the visa fee, contrasts with a December 23 ruling by a federal judge in Washington, D.C. Beryl Howell, also an Obama appointee, thought the visa fee was justified by "a straightforward reading of congressional statutes giving the President broad authority to regulate entry into the United States."
