$100,000 H-1B Fee Back in Effect After Court Stays Vacatur

What Changed on June 12

Four days after [vacating the $100,000 H-1B fee](/blog/federal-court-vacates-100000-h1b-fee-2026) as an unconstitutional tax, U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin granted a temporary stay of his own ruling on June 12, 2026. The stay followed the Trump administration's [notice of appeal](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/11/trump-h1b-visa-fee-appeal.html) to the First Circuit and its emergency request asking Judge Sorokin to pause the vacatur while the appeal proceeds.

The immediate result is that USCIS may again require the $100,000 supplemental payment for H-1B petitions covered by the fee. [Fragomen reported](https://www.fragomen.com/insights/united-states-district-court-temporarily-stays-order-vacating-dollar100000-h-1b-fee.html) that the fee obligation has been restored during the stay period, and [Bloomberg Law](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/judge-agrees-to-partly-pause-order-tossing-100-000-h-1b-fee) reported that Judge Sorokin partly paused the June 8 order.

This is a bridge stay. It preserves the status quo while the First Circuit decides whether to keep the pause in place during the full appeal. Judge Sorokin's underlying conclusion that the fee is an unlawful tax has not been reversed; the stay only suspends the effect of the vacatur for now.

The June 18 Deadline

The stay is not open-ended. According to [Fragomen's analysis](https://www.fragomen.com/insights/united-states-district-court-temporarily-stays-order-vacating-dollar100000-h-1b-fee.html), the government must file its formal stay motion with the First Circuit by June 18, 2026. If it misses that deadline, Judge Sorokin's temporary stay expires automatically and the original vacatur returns, barring USCIS from collecting the fee again.

Assuming the government files on time, the First Circuit will then decide whether to grant its own stay pending the full appeal. That decision could come within days or take several weeks. In the meantime, the fee remains in effect.

Who Is Affected

The stay restores fee obligations for the same categories of H-1B petitions covered by the original [Proclamation 10973](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/09/24/2025-18601/restriction-on-entry-of-certain-nonimmigrant-workers):

• New H-1B petitions for beneficiaries outside the United States who require consular processing to enter
• New petitions requesting consular notification or port-of-entry notification for workers in the U.S. who are not eligible for change of status
• Petitions from cap-exempt employers (universities, nonprofits, government research organizations) — the proclamation makes no exemption for these entities

What This Means for FY2027 Filers

The timing is brutal for employers filing FY2027 H-1B cap petitions. The filing window closes June 30, 2026, only 18 days after the stay was granted and 12 days after the June 18 First Circuit deadline.

Employers with selected FY2027 registrations for beneficiaries who need consular processing now face a moving target. During the stay, the fee is required. If the stay drops before June 30, the fee may fall away again. Between June 8 and June 12, employers could file without it. For now, they cannot.

• If the government files its First Circuit motion by June 18 and the court grants a stay, the fee remains in effect through the appeal — likely well past June 30
• If the government misses the June 18 deadline or the First Circuit denies the stay, the vacatur is reinstated and the fee drops away again
• Employers who filed without the fee between June 8 and June 12 face uncertainty about whether USCIS will accept those petitions, reject them, or issue requests for evidence

The Three-Court Conflict

The H-1B fee is now being litigated in three federal cases with different results. That split makes Supreme Court review more likely:

• Massachusetts (D. Mass.): Judge Sorokin vacated the fee on June 8, finding it an unconstitutional tax, then stayed his ruling on June 12 pending appeal. The case, California v. Mullin, No. 1:25-cv-13829, is now before the First Circuit as No. 26-1699
• Washington, D.C. (D.D.C.): Judge Howell upheld the fee on December 23, 2025, in Chamber of Commerce v. DHS, No. 1:25-cv-03675, finding it a valid exercise of INA section 212(f) authority. That case is on expedited appeal to the D.C. Circuit, where oral argument was held in March 2026 and a ruling is expected imminently
• Northern California (N.D. Cal.): Global Nurse Force v. Trump, No. 4:25-cv-08454, challenges the fee on similar APA grounds. A government motion to dismiss is pending before Judge Gilliam with no ruling yet on the merits

What Attorneys Should Know

The vacatur-then-stay sequence creates practice points that were not part of our [June 9 analysis](/blog/federal-court-vacates-100000-h1b-fee-2026):

• Stay scope: Bloomberg Law characterized the stay as a partial pause of the June 8 order. The key practical effect is that USCIS retains authority to collect the fee during the stay period. The precise scope of the stay order merits close reading when publicly available on the docket
• Gap-period filings: Between June 8 (vacatur) and June 12 (stay), some employers may have filed H-1B petitions without the $100,000 fee. There is no USCIS guidance on how these petitions will be handled. Attorneys should document the filing date and monitor for any USCIS notice
• Refund prospects: The June 8 ruling did not address refunds for fees already paid. The stay makes refunds even more remote in the near term. Advise clients to retain all Pay.gov receipts
• Contingency planning for FY2027: Because the fee status could change again before June 30, some employers may file with the fee and seek a refund later if the vacatur returns. Others may wait until after the June 18 deadline. Neither approach is clean
• Section 212(f) implications: Judge Sorokin’s ruling that INA sections 212(f) and 215(a) do not authorize taxes or fees — only entry restrictions — could affect future executive actions under these statutes, even if the fee itself is ultimately upheld on appeal

What Applicants Should Do

If you are an H-1B applicant or your employer is filing a new H-1B petition on your behalf:

• Confirm with your employer and immigration attorney whether your petition requires the $100,000 fee. It applies only to new petitions where you need consular processing — not to extensions or in-country status changes
• If your employer delayed filing after the June 8 ruling, that window has closed. The fee is required again while the stay is in effect. Your employer will need to include the $100,000 payment via Pay.gov unless a court lifts the stay before your filing date
• Watch the June 18 deadline closely. If the government does not file with the First Circuit by that date, the stay expires and the fee requirement drops again. Your attorney should be monitoring this daily
• If your employer filed without the fee between June 8 and June 12, ask your attorney to confirm that USCIS received and accepted the petition. There is currently no guidance on how USCIS will treat these filings

What to Watch Next

The next steps turn on a few dates and court actions:

• June 18, 2026: Government deadline to file its stay motion with the First Circuit. If missed, the temporary stay expires and the vacatur is reinstated
• First Circuit stay ruling: If the government files on time, the First Circuit will decide whether to maintain the stay during the appeal. This could come within days or take weeks
• D.C. Circuit ruling: The Chamber of Commerce appeal has been fully briefed and argued. A decision could arrive at any time and materially change the litigation posture
• USCIS guidance: Watch uscis.gov/newsroom for any formal alert on how the agency is handling the stay, gap-period filings, and FY2027 petitions
• June 30, 2026: FY2027 H-1B cap filing deadline. The fee’s status on this date determines whether employers must include the $100,000 payment with their petitions