A coalition made up of healthcare providers, religious organizations, professors, and other groups has filed a federal lawsuit to block a newly imposed $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications. They argue the fee has caused confusion and disruption for employers, foreign workers, and government agencies.
President Donald Trump signed the order on September 19, claiming the H-1B program had been misused to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor. The policy was set to take effect just 36 hours later, leading many employers to urgently call their foreign employees back to the U.S.
Filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, the lawsuit states that the H-1B program plays a vital role in hiring skilled workers in healthcare and education, contributing to U.S. innovation and economic development.
“If the court doesn’t intervene, hospitals could lose doctors and nurses, churches may be left without pastors, schools could face teacher shortages, and key industries may lose critical talent,” said the Democracy Forward Foundation and Justice Action Center in a joint statement. The suit demands an immediate block of the order to stabilize the situation.
The groups criticized the new fee as "Trump’s latest anti-immigration power grab."
The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection — named in the lawsuit along with Trump and the State Department — have not responded to requests for comment.
Congress originally created the H-1B visa to attract skilled foreign professionals for jobs that are hard to fill locally, particularly in the tech sector. According to the lawsuit, about one-third of H-1B recipients are in fields like healthcare, education, and religious services.
Opponents of the program argue it is often used to hire cheaper foreign labor, with some workers earning as little as $60,000 a year — far below the six-figure salaries paid to many U.S.-based tech employees.
H-1B visas are typically awarded through a lottery system. This year, Amazon led all companies with over 10,000 approvals, followed by firms like Tata Consultancy, Microsoft, Apple, and Google. California remains the state with the highest concentration of H-1B workers.
Todd Wolfson, president of the American Association of University Professors, warned that the high fee would discourage top global researchers from coming to the U.S.
Mike Miller of the United Auto Workers union criticized the policy as one that “favors the wealthy and well-connected over talent and hard work.”
Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, argued that the steep fee is illegal, calling it a form of taxation that Trump has no authority to impose without congressional approval. The lawsuit contends that such a major policy change cannot be enacted by executive order alone.