The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Trump administration imposing a $100,000 fee for H-1B work visas.
Last month, President Donald Trump announced plans for U.S. companies to pay $100,000 a year for H-1B visas, which allow companies to temporarily hire foreign workers in skilled jobs in various fields, including technology and engineering, in an effort to rework the program.
In a statement released Thursday regarding the lawsuit, the House called the new fees illegal because they “override provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that govern the H-1B program, including the requirement that fees be based on costs incurred by the government in processing visas.”
“The new $100,000 visa fee will make it prohibitive for U.S. employers, particularly start-ups and small and medium-sized businesses, to use the H-1B program, created expressly by Congress to ensure that U.S. businesses of all sizes can access the global talent they need to grow their operations here in the United States,” said Neil Bradley, executive vice president and policy director of the Chamber representatives of the United States, in the press release.
A White House representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The high fees are expected to be a blow to tech companies, especially startups and venture-backed companies, which often rely on skilled workers from India and China.
Big tech companies, including those that made big donations to the Trump campaign, have been beneficiaries of the program.
It was already difficult for US startups to obtain H-1B visas due to limited annual quotas.
H-1B visas – created by Congress in 1990 – are generally valid for three years and can be extended for up to six years. The program is capped at 65,000 visas per year, with an additional limit of 20,000 for those with advanced degrees. Before the change, fees ranged between $2,000 and $5,000 per request, depending on the size of the company, CNBC previously reported.
The administration also proposed other changes to the H-1B program’s lottery selection system.
The changes came in the months after Trump took office and amid a push to limit immigration and see U.S. companies hire more domestically.
“President Trump has embarked on an ambitious agenda to secure permanent pro-growth tax reforms, unleash American energy, and dismantle excessive regulation that has stifled growth. The House and our members have actively supported these proposals to attract more investment to America. To support this growth, our economy will need more workers, not fewer,” Bradley said in the release. THURSDAY.
