A coalition of hospitals, schools, and unions filed a lawsuit on Friday against Donald Trump’s executive order imposing $100,000 fees on a sought-after visa in the tech industry.
The lawsuit, submitted to a federal court in San Francisco, describes the order as “unconstitutional and unlawful,” according to a statement by the plaintiffs.
The coalition includes groups such as the nursing recruitment network Global Nurse Force, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), and several Protestant religious organisations, among others.
The executive order, signed by the former president on 19 September, mandates a $100,000 fee for companies hiring through the H-1B visa programme, which is criticised for allegedly allowing tech giants to recruit foreign talent instead of employing US workers.
The plaintiffs argue that such changes should have been handled by Congress, not through a presidential order. They claim the policy endangers hiring efforts in rural hospitals, schools, and some non-profits or charitable research centres with limited resources.
The H-1B visa was established to let employers sponsor highly skilled foreign workers, such as scientists, doctors, engineers, teachers, and pastors, whose qualifications are hard to find in the US. The visa initially covers a three-year period, with the possibility of extending it to six years.
Each year, the US issues 85,000 H-1B visas through a lottery system, with Indian nationals making up three-quarters of the recipients.
Well-known figures like Sundar Pichai of Google, Satya Nadella of Microsoft, and Elon Musk have moved to the US under the H-1B visa programme.
