Legislative lowdown: US Chamber of Commerce seeks to block Trump’s $100,000 visa fee

The US Chamber of Commerce recently sued President Donald Trump’s administration over its decision to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions.

In a complaint filed on Oct. 16, the Chamber of Commerce alleged the president exceeded his lawful authority when he issued a Sept. 19 proclamation announcing the fee.

Congress established the H-1B visa program through the Immigration Act of 1990; the proclamation “blatantly contravenes the fees Congress has set for the H-1B program and countermands Congress’s judgment that the program should provide a pathway for up to 85,000 people annually” to work in the US, the Chamber wrote.

An official with the Chamber argued that the fee, which will expire in Sept. 2026 unless extended, will hinder smaller employers’ ability to recruit talent from outside the US. Up until this proclamation, most H-1B petitions cost less than $3,600, the Chamber estimated.

“The new $100,000 visa fee will make it cost-prohibitive for US employers, especially startups and small and midsize businesses, to utilize the H-1B program, which was created by Congress expressly to ensure that American businesses of all sizes can access the global talent they need to grow their operations here in the US,” Neil Bradley, the Chamber’s EVP and and chief policy officer, said in a statement.

This is the first time the Chamber, which counts about 300,000 direct members, has taken legal action against the administration during Trump’s second term. A number of organizations, including the United Auto Workers union, also filed a lawsuit challenging the H-1B visa fee earlier this month.

How HR teams are handling H-1B strategy. The proclamation initially prompted confusion among employers with large numbers of H-1B workers, as it was unclear if the fee would apply to existing H-1B visa holders.

Even though the Trump administration clarified the policy only applies to H-1B visas issued after Sept. 21, it’s nevertheless prompted businesses to reconsider how they’ll approach hiring skilled talent in the near future. The $100,000 fee could have a particularly profound impact on early-stage companies, the New York Times reported.

“There is not a single company that I have invested in the last 10 years that could afford to pay this,” Alan Patricof, a venture capitalist and private equity investor, told the Times.

Tech, engineering, and healthcare are among the industries that have historically relied on the H-1B program to source talent. Though companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta were some of the top sponsors of H-1B visas this year, these firms could potentially absorb the cost of the new fee, Henry Jeong, a TA strategist and consultant, wrote on LinkedIn. Those who can’t, though, will have to lean on developing internal talent in lieu of hiring foreign talent, he predicted.

“Companies that invested in L&D and internal mobility are in a better position. Those that relied heavily on H-1B hiring without a backup plan are now scrambling,” Jeong wrote.

Should plaintiffs be unsuccessful in blocking the visa fee, the impact for employers is likely to become more visible starting in March 2026, when businesses begin registering to sponsor individuals for the following fiscal year.