A coalition consisting of healthcare providers, religious organizations, university professors, and various other groups filed a federal lawsuit on Friday to challenge a new $100,000 fee associated with H-1B visa applications. This initiative is believed to be the initial significant opposition to the fee, which they claim has caused disorder among employers, workers, and federal agencies.
On September 19, President Donald Trump announced the new fee, arguing that the H-1B visa program was being misused to replace American workers with lower-paid, less skilled labor. The changes were announced to take effect within 36 hours, leading to employers urging their employees to return to the U.S. quickly.
The lawsuit, submitted in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, emphasizes the importance of the H-1B program in hiring healthcare workers and educators. It highlights how the program contributes to innovation and economic growth in the U.S. by helping employers fill roles in specialized fields.
Without intervention, the lawsuit mentions that hospitals will face staff shortages, churches will lack pastors, schools will miss teachers, and industries nationwide may lose important innovators. Democracy Forward Foundation and Justice Action Center press releases call for the court to urgently block the order and restore stability for employers and workers.
They called the new fee “Trump’s latest anti-immigration power grab.”
The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to requests for comments. These departments, along with President Trump and the State Department, are listed as defendants in the legal action.
According to Congress, which created the program, the H-1B visa is intended to draw high-skilled laborers for positions typically hard to fill in the tech industry. The lawsuit states that approximately a third of H-1B visa holders are professionals such as nurses, teachers, doctors, scholars, and spiritual leaders.
Critics say the program is a pipeline for overseas workers who are often willing to work for as little as $60,000 annually, well below the $100,000-plus salaries typically paid to U.S. technology workers.
Historically, H-1B visas have been doled out through a lottery. This year, Seattle-based Amazon was by far the top recipient of H-1B visas with more than 10,000 awarded, followed by Tata Consultancy, Microsoft, Apple and Google. Geographically, California has the highest number of H-1B workers.
The $100,000 fee will discourage the best and brightest minds from bringing life-saving research to the U.S., said Todd Wolfson, president of the American Association of University Professors.
Mike Miller, Region 6 Director of the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, said Trump’s plan “prioritizes wealth and connections over scientific acumen and diligence.”
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, contends the “exorbitant fee” invites corruption and is illegal. Congress created the program and Trump can’t rewrite it overnight or levy new taxes by executive order, the groups said.
