The legal battle to stop US firms from being charged a $100,000 H-1B fee for employing foreign workers has started. The Association of American Universities (AAU) joined a lawsuit filed by the United States Chamber of Commerce in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the Trump’s proclamation of $100,000 fee on certain H-1B petitions.
The lawsuit calls for setting aside the proclamation issued on September 9 – “Because the Proclamation exceeds the President’s lawful authority, it must be enjoined as to Plaintiffs and their members, and any implementing agency action must be held unlawful and set aside.”
President Trump’s proclamation mandated a $100,000 fee for all US employers hiring foreign workers under the H-1B visa program. This requirement applies to employers participating in the 2026 H-1B lottery and other petitions submitted after September 21, 2025.
The Proclamation oversteps the President’s statutory authority in various ways, specifically by mandating a $100,000 payment through presidential directive rather than established notice-and-comment rulemaking.
“The policy is facing a legal challenge. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is asking the courts to block the $100,000 fee, saying it’s unlawful and bad for hiring. Court rulings could change when or how this takes effect, so schools and employers should watch it closely,” says Sanjay Laul Founder of MSM Unify.
According to the lawsuit, this presidential proclamation threatens to severely impact the U.S. economy by potentially creating a shortage of highly skilled, specially trained professionals, especially in the crucial fields of scientific and technological research and innovation. It is estimated that as many as 730,000 H-1B visa holders currently work in specialized fields across the American economy.
The H-1B program’s threats to American workers’ jobs were also acknowledged in the case. The predominant concern expressed in the Proclamation is that certain employers are abusing the H-1B system to undercut American workers. That is, no doubt, a serious issue, which is why Congress carefully considered that problem and equipped the executive with various measures both to prevent such abuse from occurring—such as the labor condition application process—and to penalize employers who do abuse the system.