US President Donald Trump on Tuesday slammed a federal court decision that struck down the USD 100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications. He said such rulings were causing serious harm to the country.
Speaking to mediapersons in New York after attending the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden, Trump expressed frustration over judicial decisions that have blocked some of his administration's policies.
“These judges are really giving us a hard time, really crazy. They are giving us a very, very hard time ... they're hurting our country very badly,” Trump added.
The comments came a day after a federal court in Massachusetts struck down the Trump administration's USD 100,000 fee on H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers. The fee had been challenged by California and 19 other states.
Federal Judge Leo Sorokin ruled that the fee was unlawful because it had not been approved by Congress before being imposed.
Trump had introduced the USD 100,000 fee through a presidential proclamation signed in September last year. The fee applied to new H-1B visa applications. The White House indicated that it plans to challenge the ruling in an appellate court.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers defended the administration's position, saying the H-1B visa programme had been misused for many years and that the Trump administration had taken steps to address the issue.
Rogers also noted that a federal judge in Washington had earlier upheld a similar order. Rogers said the administration remains confident that the latest ruling will be overturned on appeal.
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