On Monday a federal judge struck down the fees, siding with 20 states and ruling that the Trump administration exceeded its authority by raising the charge without congressional approval.

The State Department canceled President Gustavo Petro’s visa last year after he attended a pro-Palestinian rally in Manhattan. He had planned to attend a forum led by Mayor Mamdani of New York.

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Omar Abdulkadir Artan, who is widely admired in his home country, would have been the first Somali to referee a World Cup game.

© Feisal Omar/Reuters

The ruling contradicts an earlier federal court decision in Washington, D.C. that denied the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's request to strike down the visa fee.

The ruling voided “in its entirety” a policy from September requiring companies to pay $100,000 fees for H-1B visa petitions.

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A federal judge on Monday blocked a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications imposed by the Trump administration.  U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin agreed with a group of Democratic-led states that the administration exceeded its authority, and the fee usurped Congress’s power to set immigration policy and taxes.  “Here, the substance and application of the $100,000 payment reveal that it is a tax, regardless of…