A coalition of Democratic attorneys general from 19 states has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its proposed $100,000 fee for H-1B visas. The lawsuit, spearheaded by California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell (D), asserts the charge is unconstitutional and violates the Administrative Procedure Act. Plaintiffs argue the fee far exceeds actual processing costs for H-1B applications and imposes illegal financial burdens on state public employers and vital service providers, worsening labor shortages in critical sectors.
“President Trump’s illegal $100,000 H-1B visa fee creates unnecessary—and illegal—financial burdens on California public employers and other providers of vital services, exacerbating labor shortages in key sectors,” stated California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D).
The White House defended the measure, with Assistant Press Secretary Taylor Rogers asserting: “President Trump promised to put American workers first, and his commonsense action on H-1B visas does just that by discouraging companies from spamming the system and driving down American wages, while providing certainty to employers who need to bring the best talent from overseas. The Administration’s actions are lawful and are a necessary, initial, incremental step towards necessary reforms to the H-1B program.”
The H-1B visa program was originally designed to fill limited technical positions with insufficient domestic labor pools, authorizing 65,000 new visas annually plus an additional 20,000 for advanced degree holders. However, a presidential proclamation from September noted the program has been “deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor” and has deviated from its intended purpose. The annual visa cap of 85,000 is nearly always exceeded through legal loopholes.
Two major firms long accused of abusing the H-1B system—Cognizant and Tata Consultancy Services—announced they would reduce their reliance on cheap foreign labor in response to the new fee.
