'Changes will have adverse impact': On Trump's H-1B visa fee hike, California AG says will assess 'legal violation'

California’s top lawyer has criticised the Trump administration's decision to increase the H-1B visa application fee to $100,000. Talent recruiters widely use this visa to hire skilled foreign workers. California Attorney General Rob Bonta says it creates “uncertainty and unpredictability” for businesses in his state, and he is reviewing its legality.

The changes announced by US President Donald Trump will have an “adverse impact” on California, which has relied heavily on the programme for years to help drive innovation, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said on Tuesday in an interview with Bloomberg News.

Visa fee hike: Is it a legal violation?

The changes to the visa programme were announced by a presidential proclamation and have been met with swift criticism ever since. Bonta is one among several other Democratic state attorneys general who are filing dozens of lawsuits challenging a number of Trump administration policies, including his executive order restricting automatic birthright citizenship.

When asked if the Trump administration will face any legal implications for the latest visa policy, Bonta replied, “We are looking at it…we will assess whether there’s a legal violation. If it’s a policy that we don’t agree with but it’s legally sound, we won’t challenge it." However, he also emphasised that the state will challenge it if it’s unlawful.

The attorney general is currently examining whether the changes to the H-1B visa programme violate the federal Administrative Procedure Act, which prevents abrupt rule changes without a period of public notice, Bloomberg reported.

How does the visa fee hike affect California?

The H-1B visa programme is particularly important for Silicon Valley’s tech sector, which uses it to employ foreign workers such as skilled engineers and programmers.

Not just the tech industry but finance companies and consulting firms also rely on this programme. The changes could potentially reduce work authorisations for immigrants by as many as 5,500 a month, according to an analysis by JPMorgan Chase & Co economists.

“We wouldn’t be here without the talent that has come to California on these visas,” Bonta said. He added that businesses and people want certainty from the government, “and you just don’t get that that often, unfortunately, from the Trump administration.”

Trump’s visa fee hike would drastically increase the cost of bringing workers to the country for some of the largest American companies. The H-1B programme has been widely criticised by conservative circles as they argue that recipients are displacing jobs meant for American workers.

“You need to have a reasoned justification” for policy changes, the attorney general said. “It can’t be arbitrary, it can’t be capricious, and so we’ve brought cases on that basis quite a few times in the past, and it might be appropriate here, but we’re still looking," Bloomberg reported, quoting the attorney general.