US Chamber Of Commerce Sues Trump Admin Over H-1B Visa Fee

WASHINGTON, DC –  The US Chamber of Commerce, the country’s biggest business organization, has sued the Trump administration over the $100,000 H-1B visa application fee, calling it “unlawful”.

In a lawsuit filed in a district court in Washington on October 17, it argued that the visa fee, if implemented, would “inflict significant harm on American businesses” and force them to “either dramatically increase their labour costs or hire fewer highly skilled employees for whom domestic replacements are not readily available.”

It added that Trump’s September 19 proclamation is “plainly unlawful” and a “boon to America’s economic rivals”.

“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. Still, that authority is bounded by statute and cannot directly contradict laws passed by Congress,” it added.

Neil Bradley, Executive Vice President of the US Chamber of Commerce, issued a statement saying that the visa fee would make it “cost-prohibitive for US employers” to “access the global talent” and the US economy would “require more workers, not fewer”.

The Chamber represents approximately 3,00,000 direct members and indirectly represents the interests of more than three million companies and professional organisations in the United States.

It’s the second major domestic legal challenge to new H-1B rules, after a group of unions, education professionals and religious bodies sued the Trump administration on October 3.

In a lawsuit filed in the Northern District of California, the plaintiffs had argued that Trump’s proclamation was riddled with “multiple errors” and “ignores the benefits of the H-1B visa program to the American economy.”

The case also highlighted that the $100,000 visa application fee was “unprecedented, unjustified and unlawful”.

The plaintiff included many immigration and advocacy groups, including the Justice Action Center, South Asian American Justice Collaborative, and Democracy Forward Foundation.

While signing the proclamation in September, Trump had said the “incentive is to hire American workers”.

India-born workers received over 70 per cent of the total approved H1-B visas in 2024. (IANS)