Az AG Mayes, state AGs sue Trump admin over new $100K visa fee

A coalition of 19 Democratic state attorneys general on Friday filed a
lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, claiming a new
$100,000 fee to hire workers under the H-1B visa program is unlawful.

In the lawsuit,
filed in federal court in Massachusetts, the attorneys general claim
the agency implemented the large fee without proper public notice or
comment. They say the high price tag flies in the face of Congress’s
goals of helping U.S. employers retain highly skilled workers from other
nations.

At a press conference announcing the lawsuit, California
Attorney General Rob Bonta said the effects of imposing the fee on
California employers would be “devastating.”

“California needs
more teachers, more nurses, more doctors. There is a shortage,” Bonta
said. “These workers fill essential roles that keep the community
running.”

The H-1B visa program was established by Congress
through the Immigration Act of 1990. It allows employers to hire expert
workers, often those with advanced degrees, including physicians,
nurses, educators and researchers.

The program is designed to help
fill U.S. labor shortages in specialized fields. But in a proclamation
in September, President Donald Trump imposed a new $100,000 fee for all
H-1B petitions.

By sidestepping public processes under the
Administrative Procedure Act, Bonta said the Trump administration’s
establishment of a new fee was unprecedented and a “direct violation of
the law.”

“It was designed to dismantle the program entirely,” he
said. “No president can ignore the coequal branch of government and
ignore the law.”

The attorneys general also say the new policy
grants the Secretary of Homeland Security discretion to decide when to
exempt the fee. They say that “raises concerns that the enforcement
could be applied selectively against employers disfavored by the Trump
Administration.”

In a statement, Oregon Attorney General Dan
Rayfield said Oregon universities depend on the H-1B visa program to
fill faculty and research roles.

“Eliminating access to H-1B
faculty, researchers and staff would inflict significant institutional
harm, depriving students of critical educational opportunities,” he
said.

In Vermont, Attorney General Charity Clark said the state
relies on hundreds of H-1B visa-holders, especially in health care
services.

“Vermont has an aging population, and we need health
care workers and other skilled professionals to fill many of our job
openings,” Clark said. “While Vermont is focused on recruiting talented
professionals and welcoming new neighbors, President Trump is
exacerbating the problems with unlawful and exorbitant fees.”

Before
the new policy, the fee for an employer could range from $900 to $7,595
— an amount that was already difficult for some employers and
institutions to pay per hire, the attorney generals claim.

They
say the $100,000 far exceeds the cost to process the petitions and is an
insurmountable financial barrier for all but the wealthiest, making it
even more difficult to hire for hard-to-fill positions.

DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The
coalition includes the attorneys general of Arizona, California,
Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New
York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.