News Briefing Summary

  • The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit Thursday, alleging that President Trump's announcement imposing a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas is a "plainly unlawful" expansion of executive power, violating the Administrative Procedure Act and federal immigration law. The lawsuit filing link is availablehere。
  • This case (Chamber of Commerce v. U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, et. al.) is at least the second lawsuit against the fee announcement, following a separate lawsuit filed earlier this month by California plaintiffs.filed separatelyThe Chamber stated that the fee would "cause significant harm to American businesses" and make H-1B programs economically unfeasible for many companies.
  • The Chamber is asking the federal appeals court in the District of Columbia to block the fee requirement and overturn any agency actions taken to implement the announcement. A White House spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.

In-Depth Analysis

This lawsuit follows the Chamber's statement last month (calling on the Trump administration to withdraw the fee announcement). In that statement, the organization said Trump's move could hinder economic growth and domestic job creation, as it would incentivize employers to relocate some business functions overseas.

The Chamber's press release on Thursday (reiterated these concerns). Neil Bradley, the organization's executive vice president and chief policy officer, while affirming the government's "commitment to securing the nation's borders," warned that H-1B visas are needed to support growth and attract global talent.

The fee, announced in September,caught employers off guard, especially tech industry employers, who typically rely on H-1B visas to hire skilled talent in fields such as mathematics and computer science. However, plaintiffs in the California lawsuit argue that the fee's impact could extend tomultiple sectors, from healthcare to education。

Meanwhile, Trump has touted the fee—applicable only toH-1B visa applications filed on or after September 21, 2025—as a necessary measure to combat employers' "systemic abuse" of the program, which he claims artificially depresses wages and reduces job opportunities for U.S. citizens (seePresidential Proclamation）。

The Chamber directly addressed this in the lawsuit, acknowledging that while abuse of the H-1B program is a serious issue, Congress considered this when creating the program and authorized the executive branch to take specific measures to prevent and correct such abuse.

For example, the Chamber noted that Congress has twice imposed temporary $4,000 surcharges on specific employers with high proportions of H-1B visa holders. Congress also established the Labor Condition Application regulatory framework, requiring employers seeking H-1B workers to certify that the positions offered to candidates meet standards set by Congress. The legislature granted the president authority to enforce these requirements through fines and bans on future H-1B filings.

The Chamber stated: "Congress did not authorize suppressing use of the program by imposing fees several times higher than those set by Congress."

Additionally, the Chamber echoed arguments from the California plaintiffs, alleging that the fee is arbitrary and capricious and was implemented without the notice-and-comment rulemaking required by the Administrative Procedure Act.

Lawsuits against the feehave heightened employer confusion. Previously, sources told HR Dive that companies have been struggling with how to pay the fee and how it would apply to visa applicants already in the United States.