Tag: cost-prohibitive

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued the Trump administration over hefty new fees in the H-1B visa program

The post The U. S. Chamber of Commerce sued the Trump administration over hefty new fees in the H-1B visa program appeared com. The U. S. Chamber of Commerce has filed a lawsuit against President Trump’s administration to stop the new $100,000 H-1B visa fee, arguing that it violates U. S. immigration law and would devastate businesses that depend on skilled foreign workers. The case is the first legal challenge the Chamber has brought against Trump this term, according to court filings lodged on Thursday in the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Chamber the fee as “not only misguided policy” but “plainly unlawful,” and asked the court to strike down the rule as an abuse of executive power. Before this change, H-1B visa costs were usually below $5,000, excluding attorney fees. But under Trump’s new rule, companies would have to pay $100,000 per visa, a twentyfold increase. For industries like technology, manufacturing, education, health care, and finance, the Chamber warned, this could shut off access to specialized workers altogether. Chamber warns the new fee will hurt U. S. businesses “The new $100,000 visa fee will make it cost-prohibitive for U. S. employers, especially start-ups and small and midsize businesses, to utilize the H-1B program, which was created by Congress expressly to ensure that American businesses of all sizes can access the global talent they need to grow their operations here in the U. S.,” Neil Bradley, executive vice president at the U. S. Chamber, said in a statement. The Chamber’s decision to sue is striking because it has mostly stayed silent on other controversial Trump policies, like the nasty tariffs that have caused turmoil for small manufacturers. This time, however, the group said the new H-1B structure would hurt American competitiveness and block innovation. The White House announced the rule in mid-September, triggering confusion across companies that sponsor H-1B workers and among the visa holders themselves. Many feared losing their legal status, until the administration.