In a lawsuit challenging the Donald Trump administration’s imposition of a $100,000 fee for hiring foreign skilled workers, the government told the court that since the fee was imposed in September, only 70 employees have so far paid the fee. Justice Department lawyer Tiberius Davis told the court hearing that the number is not large and is actually quite low, which is why it cannot be considered a government revenue-generating measure and therefore does not require congressional authorization.The lawsuit focuses on whether the visa program fees are legal. Plaintiffs including nurse recruiting company Global Nurse Force filed the lawsuit claiming the fee makes it difficult for small employers to recruit workers through the professional occupation visa program. They called the fee arbitrary and capricious and argued in the lawsuit that Congress only allowed the immigration fee to cover the cost of administering the program. They said that should have followed a notice-and-comment process, but government lawyers said the fee was notified through a presidential proclamation rather than an executive order, so a comment period was not required. The lawsuit in Oakland is separate from one filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where a federal judge had already dismissed the injunction. Attorneys for the Oakland case and the Appellate Division of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said challenges to H-1B fees have been heightened by the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling striking down President Donald Trump’s global tariff regime. The justices found that the framers of the Constitution gave Congress, not the executive branch, the power to impose taxes, Bloomberg reported. Visa fees have become a contentious issue as Silicon Valley companies rely largely on the H-1B visa program to recruit workers from abroad. The move is intended to reduce that dependence and provide jobs for Americans.
