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H-1B visa row: Big decision on $100,000 fee out despite pushback; DHS reveals new rules for selection
In a big blow to H1-B applicants, a federal judge sided with the Trump administration, upholding the $100,000 fee on new applications
In a big blow to H1-B applicants, a federal judge sided with the Trump administration, upholding the $100,000 fee on new applications. In a ruling on Tuesday, District Judge Beryl Howell said that President Donald Trump’s effort to increase the cost of the popular visa is lawful. The US Chamber of Commerce, which sued to block the proposal, can appeal the decision.
This comes after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it is changing the H-1B work visa selection rules, replacing the lottery system with wage and skill-based selection.
“The new rule replaces the random lottery for selecting visa recipients with a process that gives greater weight to those with higher skills,” the DHS said in the statement.
The Trump administration was meanwhile was fending off the Commerce Chamber's argument that the president does not have the power to impose the $100,000 fee.
In her order, Judge Beryl Howell wrote that Congress has given the president broad authority that he used to address ‘in the manner he sees fit, a problem he perceives to be a matter of economic and national security’.
Daryl Joseffer, the Chamber’s executive vice president, said in a statement the $100,000 fee makes H-1B visas cost-prohibitive.
“We are disappointed in the court’s decision and are considering further legal options to ensure that the H-1B visa program can operate as Congress intended: to enable American businesses of all sizes to access the global talent they need to grow their operations,” Joseffer said.
DHS's big statement on H-1B lottery
The DHS stated that the H-1B lottery system was exploited by US employers. “The existing random selection process of H-1B registrations was exploited and abused by U.S. employers who were primarily seeking to import foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay American workers," US Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman Matthew Tragesser said.
“The new weighted selection will better serve Congress’ intent for the H-1B program and strengthen America’s competitiveness by incentivizing American employers to petition for higher-paid, higher-skilled foreign workers. With these regulatory changes and others in the future, we will continue to update the H-1B program to help American businesses without allowing the abuse that was harming American workers.”
