By Daniel Wiessner
Dec 19 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday said President Donald Trump's $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for highly-skilled foreign workers seems to fall under his broad powers to regulate immigration, casting doubt on a challenge by the largest U.S. business lobby.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell during a hearing in Washington, D.C., told lawyers for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Association of American Universities that Trump has vast authority to restrict the entry of non-citizens, including foreign workers, into the United States.
Howell, an appointee of Democratic former president Barack Obama, cited a pair of federal laws that collectively empower the president to regulate entry into the United States and to temporarily restrict entry by "classes of aliens."
“Congress has handed (those powers) to the president with a red ribbon,” Howell said. “That seems to be so broad that the proclamation by the president could have said ‘I find it in the interest of the United States to suspend all H-1B visas.’”
Howell is considering claims by the Chamber and the AAU, which represents dozens of research universities, that imposing the fee was beyond Trump's powers to restrict entry into the country and conflicts with the law that created the H-1B program.
The groups and the U.S. Department of Justice have filed dueling motions for summary judgment. Howell, during the two-hour hearing did not say when she could rule.
Democratic-led U.S. states and a coalition of employers, nonprofits and religious groups have also filed lawsuits challenging the fee.
The H-1B program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers with training in specialty fields. Technology companies in particular rely heavily on workers who receive H-1B visas. The program offers 65,000 visas annually, with another 20,000 visas for workers with advanced degrees, approved for three to six years.
The unprecedented fee announced in September would dramatically raise the cost of obtaining H-1B visas, which had previously ranged from $2,000 to $5,000 in fees depending on various factors. The fee expires in September 2026 but can be extended.
Trump in imposing the fee said the H-1B program had been abused by employers seeking to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor. He invoked his power under federal immigration law to restrict the entry of foreign nationals that would be detrimental to U.S. interests.
The Trump administration has also ordered enhanced vetting of H-1B applicants and proposed a new visa selection process that would favor higher-skilled and better-paid workers.
On Friday, lawyers for the Chamber and the AAU told Howell that the president's authority does not extend to imposing monetary fees or to regulating employers within the United States. If Trump wants to change the H-1B program, he has to go through Congress, they said.
Federal law “does not give the president unilateral authority to say, ‘well, this is what Congress has done, but I dislike it, so I’m going to disregard it,’” said Paul Hughes, who represents the Chamber.
Howell later raised the plaintiffs' concerns to U.S. Department of Justice lawyer Tiberius Davis.
“Are there any outer bounds to the president’s authority to regulate entry into the United States?” the judge asked.
Davis replied that Congress did draw some boundaries, such as requiring restrictions on entry to be temporary, but that the expansive language used in the laws underscored the scope of the president's powers.
“It’s very broad and doesn’t have very many limits,” he said.
The case is Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 1:25-cv-03675.
For the Chamber of Commerce: Paul Hughes and others from McDermott Will & Schulte
For the Association of American Universities: Zachary Schauf and others from Jenner & Block
For the government: Tiberius Davis and others from the U.S. Department of Justice
Read more:
Trump to impose $100,000 fee per year for H-1B visas, in blow to tech
Major US business group sues over Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee
Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee draws legal challenge from US states
Trump administration orders enhanced vetting for applicants of H-1B visa
Amazon, Walmart shareholder pushes firms to report impact of Trump's immigration policies
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York)
((daniel.wiessner@thomsonreuters.com))
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