The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over a new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas, claiming it is unlawful and will harm American businesses.
The pro-business group submitted its suit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing that the six-figure fee exceeds Congress’s authority and “inflict[s] significant harm on American businesses.”
President Trump enacted the fee hike via executive order last month, aiming to encourage companies to hire and train American workers rather than relying on foreign talent.
“The new $100,000 visa fee will make it cost-prohibitive for US 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 US,” Chamber Vice President Neil Bradley said.
Bradley noted that the Chamber has “actively backed” President Donald Trump’s ambitious economic agenda but said the fee could undercut access to skilled workers.
“The president has said he wants to educate, attract, and retain the world’s best and brightest in the US, and the Chamber shares that goal,” Bradley added. He expressed hope for collaboration on “common-sense reforms to improve the visa process for skilled workers.”
Trump’s executive order went into effect on September 21, raising the cost of H-1B petitions from the previous average of under $3,600 to over $100,000, per the New York Post.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick defended the move, emphasizing the need to train Americans first. “If you’re going to train somebody, you’re going to train one of the recent graduates from one of the great universities across our land. Train Americans. Stop bringing in people to take our jobs,” he said.
“Either the person is very valuable to the company and America, or they’re going to depart and the company is going to hire an American,” Lutnick added, stressing the focus on U.S. workers.
Critics of the H-1B program say tech companies often use it to hire foreign employees willing to work for lower wages than Americans, undercutting U.S. labor.
Trump’s White House counters that the fee is lawful and a critical step in reforming the program.
“President Trump promised to put American workers first, and his commonsense action on H1-B 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,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said.
Rogers added that the fee is “a necessary, initial, incremental step towards necessary reforms to the H-1B program.”
The controversy has split opinion, with business groups warning that the fee could stifle growth, while conservative advocates argue it protects U.S. workers from exploitation.
Some tech giants, including Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Meta, have expressed concern over rising costs and potential limitations on hiring skilled foreign workers.
Trump’s move is part of a broader push to prioritize American labor and reduce dependency on foreign labor in the tech sector.
The Chamber of Commerce lawsuit sets the stage for a legal battle that could shape the future of skilled worker visas in the U.S.
