H-1B visa system “spammed with fraud”: Trump administration to defend $100,000 fee in court

The Trump administration is preparing to defend its controversial H-1B fee hike in court, amid multiple lawsuits challenging the $100,000 charge imposed on new visa applicants.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday (local time) that “the administration will fight these lawsuits in court,” asserting that these actions are “lawful” and “necessary,” ANI reported.

White House claims “fraud” in the visa system

Leavitt justified the new policy, saying it aims to protect domestic workers and strengthen the visa system. She accused employers of exploiting the H-1B programme for years, which she said has subsequently driven down wages for American citizens.

“The president's main priority has always been to put American workers first and to strengthen our visa system. For far too long, the H-1B visa system has been spammed with fraud, and that's driven down American wages. So the president wants to refine this system, which is part of the reason he implemented these new policies,” she said during a press briefing at the White House.

Legal challenges mount from several groups

Leavitt's comments come as the administration faces multiple legal challenges over its $100,000 H-1B visa fee. The US Chamber of Commerce has filed a major lawsuit, alongside several unions, employers, and religious groups, in federal courts in California and Washington, DC, arguing that the fee is unlawful and detrimental to US industries, the news report said.

The chamber's litigation specifically argues that the new fee is unlawful because it overrides provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) that govern the H-1B programme. Their claim is that the INA requires visa fees to be based on the government's actual costs of processing visas, according to ANI.

“The new $100,000 visa fee will make it cost-prohibitive for US employers, especially start-ups and small and midsize businesses, to utilize the H-1B program, which Congress created expressly to ensure that American businesses of all sizes can access the global talent they need to grow their operations here in the US,” said Neil Bradley, Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer at the US Chamber.