Washington: The US Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s largest business organisation, has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging the newly announced $100,000 H-1B visa application fee, calling the move “unlawful and economically damaging.”
Filed on Thursday in a federal district court in Washington, the lawsuit argues that the policy would severely harm American businesses, forcing them to either “dramatically increase labour costs or hire fewer highly skilled workers for whom domestic replacements are not readily available.” The Chamber described the September 19 presidential proclamation as “plainly unlawful” and “a gift to America’s economic competitors.”
“The President’s authority over immigration, while broad, cannot override statutes enacted by Congress,” the complaint stated, calling the move a violation of established law.
Neil Bradley, Executive Vice President of the Chamber, said in a statement that the exorbitant visa fee would make it “cost-prohibitive for U.S. employers to access global talent” at a time when the economy “needs more skilled workers, not fewer.”
Representing about 300,000 direct members and more than three million companies and organisations nationwide, the Chamber’s suit marks the second major legal challenge to the Trump administration’s H-1B policies this month.
Earlier, on October 3, a coalition of unions, educators, and religious groups filed a similar case in California, claiming the proclamation contained “multiple errors” and ignored the H-1B programme’s “critical benefits to the American economy.”
That lawsuit also described the $100,000 visa fee as “unprecedented, unjustified, and unlawful,” and included plaintiffs such as the Justice Action Center, South Asian American Justice Collaborative, and Democracy Forward Foundation.
Defending the policy, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the measure was intended to encourage companies to “train and hire American workers” rather than rely on foreign labour.
“It’s not economic to pay $100,000 to the government and then pay an employee,” Lutnick said. “The idea is simple — train graduates from American universities and stop outsourcing jobs.”
The initial proclamation created confusion over whether current H-1B visa holders would be affected. The White House later clarified on September 20 that the fee applies only to new visa applications, not to renewals or existing holders.
Shortly after, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced plans to revise H-1B visa regulations, proposing to replace the lottery system with a weighted selection process that would prioritise higher-skilled applicants.
In 2024, India-born professionals accounted for more than 70% of approved H-1B visas, driven by both a large pool of skilled workers and significant processing backlogs.
