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US Chamber of Commerce files lawsuit against Trump's $100,000 H1B visa fee
The lawsuit argues that the new visa fee is “unlawful”, saying it overrides provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act which govern the H-1B program.
The United States Chamber of Commerce on Thursday filed a lawsuit challenging the Donald Trump-led administration's $100,000 fee on H-1B visa petitions.
The lawsuit filed by the chamber argues that the new visa fee is “unlawful”, saying that it overrides provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act which govern the H-1B program.
The chamber further said that the new fee would “make it cost-prohibitive for US employers, specially start-ups and small and midsize businesses, to utilise the H-1B program.”
Neil Bradley, Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer at the US Chamber said that the program had been “created by Congress expressly to ensure that American businesses of all sizes can access the global talent they need to grow their operations here in the US.”
The chamber, which represents about 300,000 businesses, said that the group had backed Trump's proposals to attract more investment in America. However, it said that to support the growth, the US economy would require “more workers, not fewer.”
The chamber also hailed Trump's measured to secure the US borders, saying the country had a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to accomplish targeted legal immigration reforms.”
“The president has said he wants to educate, attract, and retain the world’s best and brightest in the U.S., and the Chamber shares that goal,” Bradley said.
Trump had, last month, signed a proclamation imposing a $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visas. These visas allow companies to sponsor foreign workers with specialised skills, including scientists, engineers, and computer programmers, to work in the US. It is initially applicable for three years, but is extendable to six years.
The new rule came into effect on September 21, with the White House clarifying that it would be applicable on visa petitions after this date.
“The H-1B nonimmigrant visa program was created to bring temporary workers into the United States to perform additive, high-skilled functions, but it has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labour,” Trump said in the proclamation on the visa fee.
He further described the misuse of the H-1 system as a “national security threat”. “Domestic law enforcement agencies have identified and investigated H-1B-reliant outsourcing companies for engaging in visa fraud, conspiracy to launder money... and other illicit activities to encourage foreign workers to come to the United States,” the proclamation added.
