20 states in US sue Trump admin over $100k H-1B visa fee
In their statements, the states filing the lawsuit argue that H-1B visas are necessary for the states to hire skilled workers like physicians, nurses, researchers and university faculty
Twenty US states have sued the Trump administration for what they said was the “unlawful” introduction of a $100,000 visa fee for H-1B visa applications.
The lawsuits -- filed by the Democratic Party’s Attorneys-General in these states -- argue that President Trump does not have the legal authority to rewrite immigration law without constitutional approval. These lawsuits join an earlier set of legal challenges to the new $100,000 H-1B fees filed by the US Chamber of Commerce and by a coalition of non-profit groups and religious organisations.
In their statements, the states filing the lawsuit argue that H-1B visas are necessary for the states to hire skilled workers like physicians, nurses, researchers and university faculty.
“Oregon’s colleges, universities and research institutions rely on skilled international workers to keep labs running, courses on track and innovation moving forward. This enormous fee would make it nearly impossible for these institutions to hire the experts they need, and it goes far beyond what Congress ever intended. This threatens Oregon’s ability to compete, educate, and grow,” reads a statement from Attorney-General Dan Rayfield.
The states suing the Trump administration also argue that the visa fee hike amounts to an effort to change immigration law without going through Congress.
“No president can ignore the co-equal branch of government of Congress, ignore the Constitution or ignore the law,” California Attorney-General Rob Bonta was quoted as saying by local media.
The states have also argued that the Trump administration has exceeded the fee-setting authority granted by the United States Congress by “arbitrarily” raising the visa fee cost to $100,000 from earlier cost levels, which ranged from roughly between $960 to $7595 in fees.
The lawsuit follows earlier legal efforts to challenge the Trump administration’s H-1B visa fee move. In October, a coalition of workers unions, non-profit organisations and religious groups filed the first legal challenge against US President Donald Trump’s decision to hike the H-1B visa application fee to $100,000. The coalition argued that Trump had no legal authority to alter the terms of the H1B visa programme, which was created by an act of Congress. Later in October, the US Chamber of Commerce also filed a legal challenge to the visa fee hike. The Chamber argued that the visa fee hike - which was announced by Trump through a proclamation last month - should be set aside as it unlawfully overrides existing provisions established by the Immigration and National Act.
“The Proclamation is not only misguided policy; it is plainly unlawful. 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,” the Chamber said in its lawsuit..
On September 20, Trump slapped a $100,000 annual application fee on the H-1B visa programme, effectively shutting the door on tens of thousands of skilled Indian employees and triggering widespread chaos. A day later, the White House issued sweeping clarifications, and said the hiked visa fee will not be an annual charge and applied only to new applications in upcoming lottery cycles. Immigration agencies also confirmed that existing H-1B holders remain free to travel internationally without paying the new fee to re-enter the US — directly contradicting the strict interpretation from the proclamation of Trump’s executive order.
