BOSTON — California and 19 other states filed a federal lawsuit Friday seeking to block President Donald Trump’s $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, arguing the charge exceeds his authority and violates federal law.
The lawsuit in Boston is at least the third legal challenge to the fee announced in September, which sharply raises the cost of obtaining H-1B visas. Currently, employers typically pay between $2,000 and $5,000 in fees.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the fee would impose unnecessary financial burdens on providers of essential services, including education and healthcare, worsen labor shortages, and threaten to cut services. “Trump lacks the authority to impose this fee, which far exceeds the cost of processing H-1B petitions,” Bonta’s office said.
The H-1B program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty fields, a category particularly critical to the tech industry, much of which is based in California. States joining California in the lawsuit include New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, New Jersey, and Washington.
The White House has defended the fee in response to other lawsuits, saying it is a lawful exercise of presidential authority and will discourage abuse of the H-1B program.Trump’s order bars new H-1B recipients from entering the United States unless the sponsoring employer has paid the $100,000 fee, though it does not apply to existing H-1B holders or those who applied before Sept. 21.
Critics of H-1B and other work visas argue the programs are often used to replace American workers with lower-cost foreign employees. Business groups and major companies contend that H-1B workers help address shortages of qualified U.S. workers.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of unions, employers, and religious groups have filed separate lawsuits challenging the fee. A judge in Washington, D.C., is scheduled to hold a hearing on the Chamber’s case next week.
Bonta’s office said Trump’s fee violates the Constitution by effectively raising revenue, a power reserved for Congress.