A federal judge in Massachusetts blocks President Donald Trump’s $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications for highly skilled foreign workers. U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin rules that the fee functions as an unlawful tax because federal law does not delegate Congress’s taxing authority to the president for this purpose. Sorokin also finds the policy conflicts with the Administrative Procedure Act, citing the lack of public notice and comment before the fee took effect. The decision comes in a lawsuit brought by Massachusetts and 19 other state attorneys general challenging the fee after Trump announced it in September. Multiple outlets report that the ruling orders federal officials to suspend or vacate the fee. The H-1B program is a key legal pathway used by employers including technology companies, hospitals and universities to bring foreign workers to the United States. While the judge’s ruling is issued as the fee is challenged in court, reporting also notes there has been prior litigation with a separate judge who had upheld the fee, and an appeal is pending in that earlier case. The White House has not immediately responded to requests for comment.