Kris Mayes Led Arizona Into a Multistate Fight Over H-1B Visas & Won

Attorney General Kris Mayes (D-AZ) is welcoming a federal court decision that struck down the Trump Administration's $100,000 fee requirement on H-1B visa petitions, calling it an illegal overreach that threatened the state's economy and public services.

The ruling, issued June 8 by U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin of the District of Massachusetts, vacated the policy after finding it violated both the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act. 20 states, including Arizona, had challenged the measure in court late last year.

"The Trump Administration had no authority to unilaterally impose a $100,000 tax that Congress never approved — and today, a federal court agreed," Mayes said. "This illegal tax threatened our rural school districts, our growing semiconductor industry, and Arizona's entire economy."

President Donald Trump signed a proclamation in September 2025 imposing a fee on new H-1B petitions, citing concerns about abuse of the visa program and its impact on American workers. The policy took effect days later and applied to applications filed after September 21, 2025.

The Attorney General's Fight

However, critics like Mayes argued that the fee created a prohibitive barrier for public-sector employers trying to fill critical vacancies in education, healthcare, and other essential services.

The H-1B program allows U.S. employers to sponsor foreign workers in specialty occupations that require at least a bachelor's degree and has been widely used by hospitals, universities, and school districts facing persistent labor shortages.

The court agreed the fee functioned as a tax and that Congress had never delegated to the President the authority to impose one.

Additionally, Judge Sorokin found the policy bypassed required notice-and-comment rulemaking procedures and lacked sufficient justification for the abrupt policy shift.

Mayes celebrates Arizona's participation in the multistate lawsuit as a defense of both economic stability and access to vital services. H-1B workers and their dependents contribute an estimated $86 billion annually to the national economy, according to figures cited in the case.

The administration has not publicly commented on whether it will appeal.