SAN JOSE, Calif. — Charan Pallanaswami is a software engineer originally from Chennai, India who works in Northern California’s Silicon Valley. He is among more than 600,000 H-1B visa holders — the vast majority from India — now working in the US.
And yet, despite benefiting from a program designed to bring skilled workers from abroad, he says he supports President Donald Trump’s efforts to restrict the program.
”There is an over-flooding of H-1Bs looking for jobs,” said Pallaswami, who resides in San Jose.
Massachusetts District Court Judge Leo Sorokin June 8 struck down the Trump Administration’s attempt to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B applicants, ruling the policy amounted to an unauthorized tax that was “arbitrary and capricious.”
In his ruling, Sorokin stated: “The President’s decision to implement a tax is not within his inherent constitutional powers nor his delegated authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act.” Only Congress has the ability to impose a new tax, said Sorokin.
Trump also bypassed the legally required 30 day public comment period prior to imposing the fee, thereby invalidating the new tax, ruled the judge.
Limiting the talent pool
But Pallanaswami told American Community Media that he supported the President’s actions. The 30-year-old received his Master’s degree in computer science in the US. Last year, after finishing his Optional Practical Training, he secured a contract position at a Silicon Valley corporation, allowing him to change his F-1 student visa to an H-1B visa.
Pallanaswami considers himself lucky. Many of his classmates have not been able to find jobs, even with their advanced degrees. They have taken on the huge financial burden of a 2nd Masters’ degree or Curricular Practical Training in order to remain in the US legally.
Bonded to company
H-1B workers get about two-thirds of the salary a U.S. worker earns, alleged Pallanaswami. He compared his annual salary of $110,000 — with no benefits — with that of his non-H-1B colleagues, who earn about $170,000 on average, according to ZipRecruiter data.
Employers are legally required to pay H-1B workers the higher of either the local prevailing wage or the actual wages paid to employees in similar roles. Yet studies have found H-1B workers tend to cluster on the lower end of the pay scale, due to a variety of factors.
Many H-1B workers are entry level professionals. Most workers secure contracts through third-party outsourcing firms. Such firms often work around the wage certifications required by the Department of Labor.
Some H-1B workers have also complained that contract shops also often engage in “revenue splits,” keeping up to 30% of their worker’s monthly wage as a finder’s fee.
H-1B contractors are also tethered to their employers for their immigration status, a fact Pallanaswami says means they are often expected to work far more hours than regular employees.
”The managers abuse us and overload us with work. But we have no choice. We cannot leave them. If we don’t have a job, we cannot stay in America,” said Pallanaswami.
‘Trump’s unlawful action’
Several legal organizations filed lawsuits after the new fee was announced arguing it would hamper the ability of companies to secure the best talent from abroad.
Moreover, the tax would greatly impact the medical community. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, H-1B doctors are nearly twice as prevalent in rural communities as their U.S. born peers. These smaller rural hospitals, many of which are already under financial strain due to cuts at the federal level, would not be able to afford the added cost.
Judge Sorokin’s June 8 ruling stemmed from a suit brought by the state of California naming Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin as the defendant. DHS oversees the H-1B visa program.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told Time magazine that the Administration intends to appeal Sorokin’s ruling.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta cheered the ruling, saying in a statement: “The judgment is in! The Trump Administration’s unlawful and costly $100,000 tax has been struck down. This tax was an attack on America’s ability to attract and retain the high-skilled talent that strengthens our economy and helps us meet critical workforce needs.”
He added, “California remains open for business, open to talent, and committed to ensuring our communities have essential services — from healthcare to education — that depend on a strong, skilled workforce.”
Arbitrary Conditions
Jeff Joseph, president of the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association, also hailed the ruling. “AILA agrees with Judge Sorokin that the fee was actually a tax,” Joseph told American Community Media.
“Although immigration law gives the President broad authority to decide who gets to enter this country, the verbs used in the statute to describe what authority the President may exercise, do not include the verb ‘tax.’ The statute does not give the President blanket authority to create arbitrary and unreasonable conditions on entry,” he said.
“Taxation requires clear Congressional authority with no emergency exceptions,” said Joseph. He noted that new H-1B registrations dropped this year by approximately 38.5% to 211,600, down from 343,981 in the previous year.
‘Talent pipeline’
Asked if the H-1B program was still needed, given the large number of U.S. tech graduates struggling to find jobs, Joseph said yes. “We rely on the H-1B visa for our top researchers, technologists, engineers, entrepreneurs, doctors, professors and other talent. It is one of the only pipelines for foreign students to enter the workforce.
“Without the H-1B, we lose key talent that keeps the United States competitive and secure as a country,” said Joseph. “At a time when we are closing the doors to legal immigration and sending away key foreign talent, Canada and China are welcoming them with open arms.”
“Our economic future is dependent on legal immigration pathways,” said Joseph.
‘Victory for medical patients’
Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, president of the American Medical Association, applauded the court’s decision, calling it a “victory for patients.”
“At a time when communities across the country face physician shortages and growing barriers to care, we should be removing obstacles — not creating new ones — to attract talented physicians and other highly skilled professionals. International medical graduates play a vital role in caring for patients, particularly in underserved and rural areas,” said Mukkamala.
On Sept. 19, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring tech companies to pay $100,000 per year for each H-1B visa holder working in their company.
The proclamation created chaos in the highly-skilled temporary worker community. One week later, USCIS clarified the President’s memo, stating that the fee would only apply to new H-1B applicants from abroad. Applicants from within the country — such as foreign students adjusting status and those applying for renewals — would not be impacted, clarified USCIS.
Roughly 73% of H-1B workers whose applications were approved in fiscal year 2023 were born in India, according to data from the Pew Research Center. China is the second-most common birthplace, accounting for 12% of H-1B workers approved in 2023. A much smaller share is allocated to nurses from the Philippines.
Around 85,000 new H-1B visas are allocated each year via a lottery system. An additional 20,000 are reserved for those who have studied for advanced degrees in the US.
Despite Sorokin’s ruling, Pallanaswami said he still supports the $100,000 fee for new H-1B applicants from other countries. “If there is a fee to bring over more talent from abroad, that’s an advantage to workers who are already here. It limits the amount of competition we face,” he said.
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