Blue states sue Trump admin over $100K H-1B visa fee

A group of Democratic state attorneys general on Friday filed a challenge to President Donald Trump's imposition of a $100,000 fee to apply for an H-1B visa.

The H-1B visa has come under fire in recent years over concerns of abuse, especially in the tech industry, where critics argue large firms use it to import cheap labor, mostly from India, to replace Americans. Trump, earlier this year, imposed the fee in a bid to clamp down on abuse.

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield is leading the legal challenge, with the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

“Oregon’s colleges, universities and research institutions rely on skilled international workers to keep labs running, courses on track and innovation moving forward,” Rayfield said. “This enormous fee would make it nearly impossible for these institutions to hire the experts they need, and it goes far beyond what Congress ever intended. This threatens Oregon’s ability to compete, educate, and grow.”

The suit argues that Trump's executive order ran afoul of the Administrative Procedure Act.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.