The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has taken legal action against the Trump administration over a new $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications. The lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C., challenges the fee as illegal, saying it goes against federal immigration laws and makes it too expensive for many U.S. companies to hire skilled foreign workers.
The Chamber argued that the fee hits startups and smaller businesses especially hard, restricting their ability to bring in overseas talent to grow their companies. Neil Bradley, the Chamber’s executive vice president, said the program was created by Congress to help American businesses of all sizes access global talent, and this new charge threatens that goal.
Many large companies in the Chamber’s membership, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta, rely heavily on H-1B visas. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data, Amazon hired over 10,000 H-1B workers from 2009 through mid-2025, making it the largest user of the program. Microsoft and Meta also employed thousands of visa holders in the same period.
The Chamber initially looked for other companies to join the lawsuit but ended up filing on its own. The lawsuit claims the Chamber has the right to sue because its members depend on the H-1B program and plan to keep hiring through it.
The White House defended the fee, saying it’s a necessary fix to stop companies from gaming the system and driving down wages for U.S. workers. Taylor Rogers, White House assistant press secretary, said the policy supports bringing in top talent without harming American jobs.
Earlier this month, a global nurse staffing agency and some unions also sued over the visa changes. The Chamber’s suit joins these challenges, highlighting growing opposition from parts of the business world.
Although the Chamber praised the president’s efforts to secure the borders and attract global talent, it sees the new visa fee as a barrier that could hurt American businesses and the economy. The lawsuit names the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department as defendants and asks the court to block the fee from taking effect.
This legal fight adds to the ongoing debate over how the U.S. manages immigration and skilled foreign workers, with companies and the government fiercely divided on the best approach.