New Delhi, June 8 -- A federal judge on Monday (June 8) ruled that US President Donald Trump lacked the authority to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, declaring the policy unlawful and ordering that it be invalidated.

US District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston issued the decision in a lawsuit brought by 20 Democratic state attorneys general challenging the fee, which Trump announced in September as part of a broader effort to restrict the entry of foreign workers.

The policy had dramatically increased the cost of obtaining certain H-1B visas from the previous range of roughly $2,000 to $5,000 to a staggering $100,000 per petition. The fee applied primarily to new H-1B applicants seeking entry to the United States from ab...