Trump’s $100K H-1B Visa Fee Battle Reaches Appeals Court
The US Chamber of Commerce is challenging a federal court’s decision to uphold the Trump administration’s $100,000 fee on applications for H-1B visas, which are crucial for American technology companies seeking to employ skilled foreign workers. A national business group submitted a notice of appeal on Monday in a Washington federal court, following a judge’s ruling on December 23 that deemed President Donald Trump’s initiative to significantly raise the cost of the widely-used visa as lawful. The intensifying conflict in Washington arises as Trump’s September proclamation imposing the fee encounters distinct challenges initiated in Massachusetts by over a dozen predominantly Democratic-led states, as well as in California by a global nurse-staffing agency and multiple unions. The dispute is anticipated to eventually reach the US Supreme Court.
The H-1B visa program serves as a fundamental aspect of employment-based immigration, enabling US companies to recruit college-educated foreign workers for specialized roles. Trump took steps to raise the application fee in an effort to deter companies from misusing a program that he asserted displaces American workers. It represents a significant departure from the United States’ traditional approach to immigration. Since its inception, the US has embraced individuals from various nations and economic circumstances who arrive in pursuit of a better life and greater freedom.
Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have speculated on the potential of the new H-1B fee to create a significant financial boon for the US Treasury, possibly amounting to $100 billion or more. However, immigration attorneys have warned that a cost increase of this scale could lead to significant disruptions, likely resulting in substantial expenses for the US economy. The Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s largest business lobbying group, contended in its October lawsuit that increasing the fee is unlawful as it contravenes federal immigration law and surpasses the fee-setting authority granted by Congress.
In her ruling on December 23, US District Judge Beryl Howell dismissed the Chamber’s assertion that Trump lacks the authority to impose the fee. The judge, appointed by former President Barack Obama, determined that the proclamation was issued under “an express statutory grant of authority to the President.” Matthew Schettenhelm remarked in a note that the Chamber encounters a challenging path on appeal. “Though the Chamber had a solid judge — Obama-appointee Judge Beryl Howell, who’s been tough on the Trump administration — she handed Trump a sweeping victory,” he wrote. “If Judge Howell didn’t find legal defects in the novel proclamation, we doubt the DC Circuit or US Supreme Court would either.”
