20 U.S. States Sue Trump Administration Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
States say steep fee is unlawful, threatens staffing in schools, hospitals and universities
Washington, Dec 13: Twenty U.S. states have filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s decision to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions, arguing that the policy is unlawful and would severely disrupt essential public services.
The lawsuit targets a policy implemented by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that dramatically raises the cost for employers seeking to hire high-skilled foreign workers under the H-1B visa programme. The visa is widely used by public schools, universities, hospitals and research institutions to fill critical staffing gaps.
Leading the legal challenge, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the administration lacks statutory authority to impose such a fee.
“President Trump’s illegal $100,000 H-1B visa fee creates unnecessary and illegal financial burdens on California public employers and other providers of vital services, exacerbating labour shortages in key sectors,” Bonta said in a statement.
President Trump ordered the fee through a presidential proclamation issued on September 19, 2025. DHS applied the policy to H-1B petitions filed after September 21, granting the Secretary of Homeland Security discretion to determine which applications are subject to the fee or qualify for exemptions.
The states argue that the policy violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Constitution by bypassing required notice-and-comment rulemaking and exceeding authority granted by Congress. They note that fees under the H-1B programme have historically been limited to the cost of administering the system.
Currently, employers filing initial H-1B petitions pay between $960 and $7,595 in combined statutory and regulatory fees.
Under federal law, employers must certify that hiring H-1B workers will not adversely affect the wages or working conditions of U.S. workers. Congress caps most private sector H-1B visas at 65,000 annually, with an additional 20,000 reserved for applicants holding advanced degrees. Government and non-profit employers, including schools, universities and hospitals, are generally exempt from the cap.
The attorneys general warned that the new fee would worsen existing staffing shortages, particularly in education and healthcare. During the 2024–2025 school year, 74 per cent of U.S. school districts reported difficulty filling vacancies, especially in special education, sciences, ESL or bilingual education, and foreign languages. Educators are the third-largest occupational group among H-1B visa holders.
Healthcare providers also rely heavily on the programme. Nearly 17,000 H-1B visas were issued for medicine and health occupations in fiscal year 2024, about half of them to physicians and surgeons. The U.S. is projected to face a shortage of 86,000 physicians by 2036.
The lawsuit was filed by Bonta and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, joined by attorneys general from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
The H-1B programme remains a key pathway for skilled foreign professionals including large numbers of Indian workers employed in technology, healthcare and academic research and the states argue the new fee threatens the programme’s viability.
