20 US States Challenge Donald Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee in Federal Court

California and 19 other US states have filed a lawsuit seeking to block former President Donald Trump’s proposal to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers.

The lawsuit, filed on Friday in a federal court in Boston, marks at least the third legal challenge to the fee announced in September. The proposed charge represents a dramatic increase over the current H-1B application costs, which typically range between $2,000 and $5,000 and are paid by employers.

In a statement, the office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the former president lacks the authority to impose such a fee. The lawsuit argues that the move violates federal law, which permits immigration authorities to levy fees only to recover the actual costs of administering visa programmes.

The H-1B programme allows US employers to hire foreign professionals in specialised fields, and the technology sector — particularly in California — is among its biggest users. Bonta, a Democrat, warned that the steep fee would place an undue financial burden on employers in critical sectors such as healthcare and education, worsening labour shortages and potentially leading to reduced services.

Other states joining the lawsuit include New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, New Jersey and Washington.

The White House, responding to earlier legal challenges, has defended the proposed fee, calling it a lawful use of presidential authority aimed at curbing misuse of the H-1B programme by employers.

Critics of the visa programme argue that H-1B visas are sometimes used to replace American workers with lower-paid foreign employees. However, business groups and major employers have consistently maintained that the programme is essential to filling gaps where qualified US workers are unavailable.

Separate lawsuits challenging the fee have also been filed by the US Chamber of Commerce — the country’s largest business lobby — and a coalition of unions, employers and religious organisations. A hearing in the Chamber’s case is scheduled to take place in Washington, DC, next week.

Under Trump’s order, new H-1B visa holders would be barred from entering the United States unless their sponsoring employer pays the $100,000 fee. The administration has said the rule would not apply to existing H-1B holders or applicants who filed their petitions before September 21.

In the order, Trump cited his authority under federal immigration law to restrict the entry of foreign nationals deemed detrimental to US interests. However, Bonta’s office argued that the proposed fee far exceeds the cost of processing H-1B petitions and amounts to an unlawful revenue-generating measure, a power reserved for Congress under the US Constitution.

Read Also :Japan lifts tsunami warning after 7.5-magnitude earthquake