The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued the Trump administration on October 16, 2025, challenging a new $100,000 fee for H-1B visa petitions that the business group says is unlawful and will cripple American companies’ ability to hire skilled foreign workers.
The H-1B visa program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical and practical application of highly specialized knowledge and at least a bachelor’s degree in a specific specialty. The program has been extensively used by the technology industry, benefiting both large corporations and emerging startups. Demand for H-1B visas significantly exceeds supply, with more than 336,000 people registering for fiscal year 2026 against an annual cap of 85,000 (65,000 regular cap plus an additional 20,000 for individuals with advanced degrees from U.S. universities).
On September 19, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation titled “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers,” which took effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on September 21, 2025. The proclamation imposes a $100,000 payment requirement on all new H-1B visa petitions filed by U.S. employers. This represents a dramatic increase from the current fee structure, where most H-1B petitions cost between $2,000 and $3,600 in government fees.
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services guidance, the $100,000 fee applies only to new H-1B petitions filed after September 21, 2025. Current visa holders and employees seeking renewals with the same employer are not affected. However, the fee will impact H-1B cap petitions filed during the April-June 2026 window for Fiscal Year 2027, as well as new petitions filed by cap-exempt employers such as universities and research institutions.
The proclamation cited allegations of “large-scale replacement of American workers through systemic abuse” of the H-1B program, claiming certain employers have manipulated the system to artificially suppress wages and disadvantage American citizens. The administration characterized the fee as “a necessary, initial, incremental step towards necessary reforms” aimed at discouraging companies from driving down American wages.
The Chamber’s lawsuit is the second legal challenge to the proclamation. On October 3, 2025, a coalition of labor unions, healthcare providers, schools, and religious organizations filed Global Nurse Force v. Trump in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, making similar arguments that the fee exceeds presidential authority. Plaintiffs in that case include Global Nurse Force, Global Village Academy Collaborative, the United Automobile Workers International, and the American Association of University Professors.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, representing approximately 300,000 direct members and the interests of more than 3 million companies across all industry sectors, filed its 49-page complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The lawsuit presents several core legal arguments challenging the proclamation’s validity.
The Chamber’s primary argument asserts that the proclamation “blatantly contravenes the fees Congress has set for the H-1B program” and exceeds the President’s lawful authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The complaint argues that Congress has meticulously established how fees for the H-1B program should be calculated, specifying that fees must be tied to the costs the government incurs in processing visas.
The lawsuit contends that the Immigration and Nationality Act permits the executive branch to charge immigration fees only in two circumstances: when adopted through notice-and-comment rulemaking and set at a level necessary to recoup U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services costs, or when Congress itself has expressly authorized the fee through statute. The $100,000 fee falls into neither category, the Chamber maintains.
Beyond the statutory fee-setting authority, the complaint argues that Congress has carefully calibrated the H-1B visa system to balance the needs of the domestic economy. The annual cap of 85,000 new H-1B visas reflects Congress’s considered policy judgment about the appropriate number of highly skilled foreign workers who should be able to enter the United States annually. The lawsuit asserts that the prohibitive $100,000 fee will dramatically reduce participation in the program, effectively circumventing Congress’s statutory cap and making the program “no longer economically viable for many, primarily smaller businesses.”
The Chamber also challenges the proclamation on procedural grounds, arguing it violates the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to follow required notice-and-comment rulemaking procedures. The complaint states that Congress explicitly determined that notice-and-comment rulemaking is requisite to set appropriate fees for immigration programs.
The complaint details the substantial harm the fee would inflict on American businesses, forcing them to “either dramatically increase their labor costs or hire fewer highly skilled employees for whom domestic replacements are not readily available.” The lawsuit warns that for many Chamber members, particularly innovative startups and small businesses, the $100,000 fee is simply unaffordable regardless of how talented a prospective employee may be.
The complaint emphasizes that approximately 730,000 H-1B visa holders currently work in specialized fields across the American economy, contributing enormously to American productivity, prosperity, and innovation. The lawsuit cites multiple studies demonstrating that H-1B workers drive innovation, create jobs for American workers, and generate significant economic benefits.
The proclamation includes provisions for a national interest exception, under which the Secretary of Homeland Security may waive the fee requirement for individuals, companies, or entire industries if their hiring is deemed in the national interest. However, details about the eligibility criteria and application process for this exception remain unclear.
The U.S. Chamber’s lawsuit requests that the court declare the proclamation and any implementing agency action exceed the executive branch’s lawful authority, enjoin defendants from implementing or enforcing the proclamation’s provisions as to the Chamber and its members, vacate and set aside any agency actions taken to implement the proclamation under the Administrative Procedure Act, and award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.
