The United States Chamber of Commerce sued the Trump administration on Thursday over the new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas.
The lawsuit said the fee, which President Donald Trump put in place with an executive order last month, was “unlawful” and that it would harm American businesses.
“The United States is unique in its ability to attract the brightest talent from across the globe. For more than 70 years, what is now known as the H-1B visa program has enabled the United States to harness this magnetic draw,” the lawsuit said, adding that as a result of the new fee businesses would have to “dramatically increase their labor costs or hire fewer highly skilled employees for whom domestic replacements are not readily available.”
It also argues that the executive order is unlawful because it “blatantly contravenes the fees Congress has set for the H-1B program.”
The lawsuit pits the business association against Trump, who has fashioned himself as a pro-business president.
Neil Bradley, the US Chamber’s executive vice president and chief policy officer, said in a statement that while the administration deserves credit for securing US borders and embarking on an ambitious tax reform agenda, the $100,000 visa fee is “cost-prohibitive for US employers, especially start-ups and small and midsize businesses.”
“President Trump has embarked on an ambitious agenda of securing permanent pro-growth tax reforms, unleashing American energy, and unraveling the overregulation that has stifled growth,” the statement said. “The Chamber and our members have actively backed these proposals to attract more investment in America. To support this growth, our economy will require more workers, not fewer.”
The move from Trump substantially increased the fee for H-1B visas — a key program US employers rely on to hire workers abroad.
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The lawsuit, which was filed in the US District Court in Washington, said that most H-1B petitions cost less than $3,600. The H-1B visa has become essential to the US tech and research industries, but other sectors, including healthcare and education, have come to rely on the program.
Confusion within Silicon Valley ensued after the initial announcement of the fee, as large companies scrambled to determine whether currently-employed foreign workers would be impacted by the new rule.
Some business leaders lauded the changes to the program. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that streamlining the process to get the “smartest people in the country” is a good step forward.
Earlier this month, a coalition of unions, nonprofits, religious organizations, and a healthcare staffing firm, among other parties, filed one of the first major legal challenges against the new fee.
That lawsuit, which was filed in the US District Court in Northern California, called the fee “draconian” and could stall innovation in the US.
Both lawsuits argue that the Trump administration overstepped its authority.
In a statement to Business Insider, Taylor Rogers, a White House spokesperson, said the administration’s actions are “lawful and are a necessary, initial, incremental step toward necessary reforms to the H-1B program.”
