US Judge Dismisses Business Lobby’s Challenge to Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee

A US federal judge has rejected a legal challenge by the country’s largest business lobby group to President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, ruling that the measure falls within the president’s broad authority to regulate immigration.

US District Judge Beryl Howell, sitting in Washington, DC, dismissed arguments from the US Chamber of Commerce that the fee conflicts with federal immigration law and would force companies, hospitals and other employers to cut jobs and public services.

“The parties’ vigorous debate over the ultimate wisdom of this political judgment is not within the province of the courts,” Judge Howell wrote. “So long as the actions dictated by the policy decision and articulated in the Proclamation fit within the confines of the law, the Proclamation must be upheld.”

Judge Howell was appointed by former Democratic president Barack Obama. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Daryl Joseffer, executive vice president and chief counsel of the Chamber of Commerce, said many small and medium-sized businesses would be unable to afford the fee. “We are disappointed in the court’s decision and are considering further legal options to ensure that the H-1B visa programme can operate as Congress intended,” he said in a statement.

The H-1B visa programme allows US employers to hire foreign workers in specialised fields and is heavily relied upon by technology companies. It offers 65,000 visas annually, with an additional 20,000 reserved for applicants holding advanced degrees, typically granted for three to six years.

Under Trump’s order, the cost of obtaining an H-1B visa would rise sharply from the previous range of about $2,000 to $5,000, depending on various factors.

In its lawsuit, the Chamber argued that the new fee would force businesses to choose between significantly higher labour costs and hiring fewer highly skilled foreign workers. Separate lawsuits challenging the fee have also been filed by a group of Democratic-led states and a coalition of employers, non-profits and religious organisations.

Trump imposed the fee by invoking his powers under federal immigration law to restrict the entry of foreign nationals deemed detrimental to US interests. Judge Howell said he had sufficiently supported claims that the H-1B programme was displacing American workers, citing examples of companies laying off thousands of US employees while continuing to apply for H-1B visas.

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