A group of states said that they are suing the Donald Trump administration to block a $100,000 fee for any new applications for H-1B visas, which allow employers in the US to hire skilled foreign workers, Bloomberg reported.
The lawsuit, expected to be filed Friday, argues that the fee creates a costly and illegal barrier to employers using the popular visa program and that the administration failed to follow the proper rulemaking process when adopting the policy. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell are leading the case.
“As the world’s fourth largest economy, California knows that when skilled talent from around the world joins our workforce, it drives our state forward,” Bonta said in a statement.
“The Trump administration thinks it can raise costs on a whim, but the law says otherwise.”
The lawsuit would be at least the third challenging the fee increase, which Trump announced in September, but the first challenge by US states. The US Chamber of Commerce sued in October, as did a global nurse-staffing agency and several unions. Both cases are ongoing.
Why is Trump charging a $100,000 fee for H-1B visas
The H-1B visa program is a cornerstone of employment-based immigration. It allows companies based in the US to hire college-educated foreign workers for specialised occupations. Trump announced an overhaul of the program in September, arguing that abuse of the H-1B pathway has displaced US workers.
H-1B visas are awarded based on a lottery system, but they are used primarily by the tech industry. Companies with the greatest number of H-1B visas include Amazon, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Microsoft, Meta Platforms Inc. and Apple Inc., according to the US government, as reported by Bloomberg.
The attorneys general suing to block the fee argued it would be especially detrimental in key public sectors, including education and health care.
“The administration’s illegal attempt to ruin this program will make it harder for New Yorkers to get health care, disrupt our children’s education, and hurt our economy,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.
Beyond California, Massachusetts, and New York, the lawsuit also includes Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin as challengers to the fee.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
