U.S. Chamber of Commerce sues Trump administration over $100,000 H-1B visa fee

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is suing the Trump administration for imposing a $100,00 annual fee for new H-1B visa applications, claiming the fee is unlawful and would significantly harm U.S. businesses.

In a federal lawsuit filed Thursday in Washington D.C., the Chamber asks the court to declare that President Donald Trump exceeded the executive branch’s authority by imposing the fee and bloc federal government agencies from enforcing it.

H-1B visas are meant for high-skilled jobs that tech companies find hard to fill and are primarily associated with tech workers from India. Big tech companies are the biggest user of the visa, and nearly three-quarters of those approved are from India. But there are critical workers, like teachers and doctors, who fall outside that category.

The Trump administration announced the fee last month, arguing that employers were replacing American workers with cheaper talent from overseas. Since then, the White House has said the fee won’t apply to existing visa holders and offered a form to request exemptions from the charge.

In its lawsuit, the Chamber argues that the new fee violates the immigration laws that govern the H-1B program, including the requirement that fees be based on the costs incurred by the government in processing visas.

“The President has significant authority over the entry of noncitizens into the United States, but that authority is bounded by statute and cannot directly contradict laws passed by Congress,” according to the complaint, which names the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department and their respective cabinet secretaries as defendants.

Prior to Trump’s proclamation imposing the new fee, most H-1B visa applications cost less than $3,600, according to the Chamber.

“If implemented, that fee would inflict significant harm on American businesses, which would be forced to either dramatically increase their labor costs or hire fewer highly skilled employees for whom domestic replacements are not readily available," according to the complaint.

The new fee is scheduled to expire after a year, but could be extended if the government determines that is in the interest of the United States to keep it.

Historically, H-1B visas have been doled out through lottery. This year, Amazon was by far the top recipient of H-1B visas with more than 10,000 awarded, followed by Tata Consultancy, Microsoft, Apple and Google. Geographically, California has the highest number of H-1B workers.

Critics say H-1B spots often go to entry-level jobs, rather than senior positions with unique skill requirements. And while the program isn’t supposed to undercut U.S. wages or displace U.S. workers, critics say companies can pay less by classifying jobs at the lowest skill levels, even if the specific workers hired have more experience.