A federal judge declared President Donald Trump's fee unlawful, violating the Administrative Procedure Act. The fee narrowed a major pathway for legal immigration that is used by tech companies, hospitals and universities.

A federal judge blocked a Trump administration policy adding a $100,000 dollar fee to new H-1B visas for skilled workers.

A federal ⁠judge on Monday ​declared a $100,000 ‌fee that U.S. ‌President ⁠Donald ⁠Trump imposed on new H-1B ​visas for highly skilled foreign ​workers is unlawful ⁠and must ⁠be ⁠invalidated. U.S. District Judge ​Leo Sorokin in ​Boston ⁠issued the ruling in a ⁠lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic state attorneys ⁠general challenging a fee Trump announced in September that dramatically raised the cost of ⁠obtaining H-1B visas.

In the ruling, U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin of Massachusetts declared Trump’s fee unlawful and said it violated the Administrative Procedure Act.

The president introduced the new fee as a way to only attract high-level candidates, but the policy drew concern and criticism.

U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin ruled in favor of a group of 20 states that challenged President Trump's new $100,000 visa fee.

The ruling said the fee on visas for skilled foreign workers was a tax the president did not have the authority to levy.

A federal judge on Monday invalidated the Trump administration’s new fees for H-1B visas, saying officials overreached in applying a $100,000 charge for new applicants to the program for foreign professionals.