U.S. Chamber of Commerce sues Trump administration over $100,000 H-1B visa fee

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce connected Thursday filed a lawsuit implicit the Trump medication imposing a $100,000 interest to the H-1B idiosyncratic visas.

Last period President Donald Trump announced plans that would see U.S. companies to wage $100,000 per twelvemonth for H-1B visas -- which allows companies to temporarily prosecute overseas workers successful skilled occupations successful assorted fields, including exertion and engineering -- successful an effort to rework the program.

In a merchandise regarding the suit connected Thursday, the Chamber called the caller interest unlawful since it "overrides provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that govern the H-1B program, including the request that fees beryllium based connected the costs incurred by the authorities successful processing visas."

"The caller $100,000 visa interest volition marque it cost-prohibitive for U.S. employers, particularly start-ups and tiny and midsize businesses, to utilize the H-1B program, which was created by Congress expressly to guarantee that American businesses of each sizes tin entree the planetary endowment they request to turn their operations present successful the U.S.," said Neil Bradley, enforcement vice president and main argumentation serviceman astatine the U.S. Chamber successful the release.

A White House typical didn't instantly respond to a petition for comment.

The steep fee was expected to beryllium a large stroke to companies successful the exertion sector, peculiarly startups and task capital-backed companies, which often trust connected skilled workers from India and China.

Big Tech companies, including those that donated heavy to the Trump campaign, person been beneficiaries of the program.

It was already hard for U.S. startups to unafraid H-1B visas owed to constricted yearly quotas.

H-1B visas -- created by Congress successful 1990 -- are typically valid for 3 years and tin beryllium extended up to six years. The programme is capped astatine 65,000 visas per year, with an further carve retired of 20,000 for individuals with precocious degrees. Prior to the change, fees had ranged from $2,000 to $5,000 per application, depending connected the size of the company, CNBC antecedently reported.

The medication has besides proposed further changes to the H-1B program's lottery enactment system.

The changes person travel successful the months pursuing Trump entering bureau and amid a propulsion to bounds migration and spot American companies prosecute much domestically.

"President Trump has embarked connected an ambitious docket of securing imperishable pro-growth taxation reforms, unleashing American energy, and unraveling the overregulation that has stifled growth. The Chamber and our members person actively backed these proposals to pull much concern successful America. To enactment this growth, our system volition necessitate much workers, not fewer," Bradley said successful the Thursday release.

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