A coalition of 20 Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the Trump administration’s controversial $100,000 fee for H-1B visa petitions, calling the surcharge an unlawful attempt to dismantle a vital immigration program.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, and New York Attorney General Letitia James are leading the lawsuit, filed last week in federal court in Massachusetts. Washington Attorney General Nick Brown announced his state’s participation on Monday, bringing the coalition to 20 states.
“The federal government can’t arbitrarily turn these visas into an extortion racket to punish employers and institutions the President does not like,” Brown said in a statement on Monday.
The H-1B visa program allows employers to temporarily hire foreign professionals for specialized positions requiring at least a bachelor’s degree when qualified U.S. workers are unavailable. The Trump administration announced the fee in September, claiming the program is overused.
The Democratic attorneys general argue the Department of Homeland Security exceeded its congressional authority by imposing what they characterize as a prohibitive surcharge. “Congress has refined this program, setting caps, establishing fees, enhancing enforcement and strengthening protections, but what Congress has never done is authorize a president to impose a six-figure surcharge designed to dismantle the program entirely,” Bonta said at a press conference on Friday.
The attorneys general warn that the fee will create substantial financial burdens for state institutions and private employers, hampering their ability to fill critical vacancies. Bonta cited data showing approximately 30,000 educators nationwide hold H-1B visas, while 17,000 visa holders last year were healthcare professionals. Brown emphasized the program helps his state remain on the “cutting edge in highly specialized areas of education and research.”
“The bottom line is, no presidential administration can rewrite immigration law,” Bonta said. “No president can destabilize our schools, our hospitals and universities on a whim, and no president can ignore the coequal branch of government, of Congress, ignore the Constitution or ignore the law.”
The lawsuit names as defendants the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Kristi Noem, the State Department and Secretary Marco Rubio, the Labor Department and Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the Justice Department and Attorney General Pamela Bondi, and the U.S.
DHS dismissed the legal challenge in a statement, calling it “an embarrassingly obvious attempt by a bunch of Democrat attorneys general to kneecap President Trump’s agenda and undermine his clear authorities under the U.S. Constitution and federal immigration law.”
The Justice Department declined to comment. This marks California’s 49th lawsuit against the Trump administration since January.
“The new $100,000 H-1B fee makes the traditional model of relocating international talent prohibitively expensive for most companies. Only those with the deepest pockets can afford to sponsor employees, and many of those even have put that initiative on pause,” said Job van der Voort, CEO and co-founder of Remote. “The reality, however, is that American companies have already been shifting away from solely relying on this model. Nearly half of U.S. companies have hired internationally in the last six months, according to our latest survey.”
“The difference now is that most of these hires aren’t being brought to the U.S. at all,” he said. “They’re staying in their home countries and working for U.S. teams without ever entering the immigration system. Companies get access to global talent. Individuals outside of major hubs get access to global opportunities.”
