A federal judge on Tuesday upheld the Donald Trump administration’s move of a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, providing a setback for US technology companies that rely on hiring skilled foreign workers.
In the summary ruling, US District Judge Beryl Howell said that President Donald Trump’s effort to radically increase the cost of the popular visa is lawful, Bloomberg reported.
The decision gives a boost to the Trump administration’s campaign to restrict immigration and push demand for US workers. The US Chamber of Commerce, which had sued to block the proposal, can appeal.
Howell rejected the Chamber’s argument that Trump doesn’t have the power to impose the fee, finding that his proclamation was issued under “an express statutory grant of authority to the President.”
Congress has given the president broad authority that he used to address “in the manner he sees fit, a problem he perceives to be a matter of economic and national security,” she wrote.
Daryl Joseffer, the Chamber’s executive vice president, said in a statement that the $100,000 fee makes H-1B visas cost-prohibitive.
“We are disappointed in the court’s decision and are considering further legal options to ensure that the H-1B visa program can operate as Congress intended: to enable American businesses of all sizes to access the global talent they need to grow their operations,” Joseffer said.
The Chamber, the nation’s largest business lobbying group, argued in its October lawsuit that raising the fee is unlawful because it overrides federal immigration law and exceeds the fee-setting authority afforded by Congress.
A group of 19 state attorneys general is also challenging Trump’s proclamation. Their lawsuit focuses on the projected impact on the public sector, particularly in the fields of health care and education, which also rely on the H-1B visa program. A separate suit was filed by a global nurse-staffing agency. So the Trump administration’s order can still be blocked.
Uncertainty prevails on the H-1B visa
The US Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday said it will replace the lottery for choosing H-1B visa applicants with a weighted selection to overcome wage arbitrage and incentivise American employers “to petition for higher-paid, higher-skilled foreign workers.”
There are also proposals being considered to impose a wage floor.
The H-1B visa program is a cornerstone of employment-based immigration, allowing companies in the US to hire college-educated foreign workers for specialised occupations. In September, Trump signed a proclamation to increase the application fee to discourage companies from abusing a program that he claimed displaces US workers.
Beyond the US tech companies, the action also hits India hard, as Indians have been the biggest beneficiaries of the H-1B visa program. In addition to the extra costs that Indian IT companies will incur for thousands of employees on such visas, the ongoing unpredictability has unnerved many Indian professionals working in US tech, finance, healthcare, and other industries, especially after the recent mass postponement of work visa appointments.