00:00A federal judge has just hinted a massive win to Silicon Valley.
00:03In a ruling Monday, the judge of Massachusetts blocked President Donald Trump's
00:08controversial decree from September that slapped a $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications,
00:15providing an instant reprieve for U.S. tech giants.
00:18District Judge Leo Sorokin ruled that the staggering price hike amounted to an unlawful tax
00:23and ordered it stripped away, siding with California and 19 other states.
00:28The court agreed that the administration lacked the authority to impose such a hefty charge on
00:33businesses without approval from Congress. This decision poses a fresh roadblock to the
00:39administration's ongoing campaign to restrict immigration. The H-1B visa lottery for high-skilled
00:45workers is a cornerstone of tech hiring in the U.S. The program is used heavily by companies like
00:51Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Apple to bring in highly educated global talent, and the fee threatened
00:58to create a new cost for industry. While the White House is likely to appeal this ruling,
01:04the legal war is far from over. The case is just one of three separate lawsuits currently taking aim
01:10at the policy, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce actively fighting a parallel battle that's now in
01:15a Washington appeals court. For now, the $100,000 fee is off the table, but the battle over global talent
01:23on Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and in Washington is just heating up.
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