On December 23, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a decision upholding the presidential proclamation imposing a $100,000 payment requirement before processing certain new H-1B visa petitions. The court’s ruling in Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, et al. rejected challenges alleging that the proclamation exceeded executive authority or violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
Background
On September 19, 2025, President Trump issued a proclamation that requires employers to pay a $100,000 fee per H-1B petition for certain beneficiaries. On October 16, 2025, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed suit in the District of Columbia challenging the proclamation. The Association of American Universities later joined the case as a plaintiff. Plaintiffs argued that the executive branch lacked statutory authority to impose this payment requirement and that agency implementation violated the APA.
Court Decision
In its December 23 decision, the court concluded that the “lawfulness of the Proclamation and its implementation rests on a straightforward reading of congressional statutes giving the President broad authority to regulate entry into the United States for immigrants and nonimmigrants alike.” The court determined the proclamation was issued pursuant to an “express statutory grant of authority” and therefore “is not ultra vires.”
With respect to the APA claim, the court held that the “lawfully authorized nature of the Proclamation, which directed immediate implementation, carries over to the limited, ministerial actions taken to date by defendants to comply with its terms and, as such, those actions are not in violation of the APA.” The court also noted plaintiffs’ concession at the motions hearing that, if the proclamation were lawful, their APA claim would fail.
The court stated that the effects of the H-1B program on the economy or national security “are simply not at issue in this case,” and that the parties’ debate over the “ultimate wisdom” of the policy judgment is “not within the province of the courts” so long as the proclamation “fit[s] within the confines of the law.”
Looking Ahead
The decision remains subject to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. There are also two other pending lawsuits challenging the $100,000 H-1B payment requirement: one filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by Global Nurse Force and a coalition including labor unions and other organizations, and one filed by a coalition of 20 states in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. CUPA-HR will continue to monitor for appeals activity, additional federal guidance and further legal developments related to the proclamation.