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A coalition in the US has sued Trump’s H-1B visa fee hike, calling it unconstitutional and unlawful. They argue the fee drive away skilled foreign workers and stifling innovation.
Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House (File photo/AP)
A coalition of health care providers, religious groups, university professors and others filed a federal lawsuit on Friday, challenging the new USD 100,000 fee required for H-1B visa applications.
The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in San Francisco, is the first to challenge a proclamation that Donald Trump issued two weeks ago, announcing the fee as he moves to further restrict immigration to the United States.
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The plaintiffs argue that Trump has no authority to alter a comprehensive statutory scheme governing the visa program and cannot, under the US Constitution, unilaterally impose fee, taxes or other mechanisms to generate revenue for the United States, saying that power is reserved for Congress.
The coalition also argued that the new fee imposed on the visa has “thrown employers, workers and federal agencies into chaos”.
Trump’s order bars new H-1B recipients from entering the United States unless the employer sponsoring their visa has made an additional $100,000 payment.
The administration has said the order does not apply to people who already hold H-1B visas or those who submitted applications before September 21.
DONALD TRUMP’s H-1B VISA CHALLENGED IN COURT
As the plaintiffs argued Trump’s power to restrict the entry of certain foreign nationals and overriding the law that created the H-1B visa program, the lawsuit mentioned, “The Proclamation transforms the H-1B program into one where employers must either ‘pay to play’ or seek a ‘national interest’ exemption, which will be doled out at the discretion of the Secretary of Homeland Security, a system that opens the door to selective enforcement and corruption.”
The groups argue that agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security’s US Citizenship and Immigration Services and the US State Department, likewise adopted new policies to implement Trump’s proclamation.
This, they said, was done without following necessary rulemaking processes and without considering how “extorting exorbitant fees will stifle innovation.”
The lawsuit said the H-1B program is a critical pathway to hiring healthcare workers and educators. It drives innovation and economic growth in the US, and allows employers to fill jobs in specialised fields.
“Without relief, hospitals will lose medical staff, churches will lose pastors, classrooms will lose teachers, and industries across the country risk losing key innovators,” Democracy Forward Foundation and Justice Action Centre said in a press release.
“The suit asks the court to immediately block the order and restore predictability for employers and workers.”
They called the new fee “Trump’s latest anti-immigration power grab”.
THE H-1B VISA FEE HIKE
Donald Trump signed the proclamation on September 19, requiring the new fee, saying the H-1B visa program “has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labour”.
The changes were slated to go into effect in 36 hours, which caused panic for employers, who instructed their workers to return to the US immediately.
Trump, in his unprecedented order, invoked his power under federal immigration law to restrict the entry of certain foreign nationals who would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.
He said that high numbers of lower-wage workers in the H-1B program have undercut its integrity and that the program threatens national security, including by discouraging Americans from pursuing careers in science and technology.
The H-1B visa program was created by Congress to attract high-skilled workers to fill jobs that tech companies find difficult to fill. About a third of H-1B workers are nurses, teachers, physicians, scholars, priests and pastors, according to the lawsuit.
Historically, H-1B visas have been doled out through a lottery. This year, Seattle-based 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, according to The Associated Press.
ALSO READ | TCS, Cognizant Among 10 Firms Queried By US Senators On H-1B Use Despite Job Cuts
About the Author
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
October 04, 2025, 08:44 IST
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