U.S. President Donald Trump reacts after signing an executive order to create a White House Olympics task force to handle security and other issues related to the LA 2028 summer Olympics (Reuters)
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has taken the unusual step of suing President Donald Trump's administration, challenging a newly-announced $100,000 fee for employers sponsoring workers under the H‑1B visa program.
Newsweek reported Monday that the conservative business lobby filed the suit this week in federal court in Washington, D.C., saying the move risks undermining the ability of U.S. companies — especially small and mid-sized firms — to compete for global talent. The report described the development as a "rare public split."
According to the Chamber’s complaint, the administration’s fee hike exceeds the authority granted by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act and violates the procedural requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act.
Among their arguments is that fees for the H-1B program must reflect the government’s costs in processing applications, but the new $100,000 figure far outpaces past application fees, which the Chamber says were typically under $3,600.
The administration counters that the fee is designed to deter companies from using the H-1B program to undercut American workers by hiring foreign labor at lower cost and to protect U.S. wages and jobs.
The proclamation announced that the fee only applies to new petitions filed after September 21 and does not affect existing visa holders or renewal petitions already pending.
The U.S. Chamber, historically aligned with Republican administrations, rarely mounts direct legal challenges to a sitting GOP president. Opensecrets data shows it ranked second overall in total lobbying expenditures out of more than 9,200 groups last year, spending $76.2 million on influencing Congress. The Chamber also donates almost exclusively to Republican candidates.
The business community is signaling that the fee could significantly hamper its ability to hire highly skilled workers — particularly in sectors like technology, higher education, and research.
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