“President Trump’s illegal $100,000 H-1B visa fee creates unnecessary—and illegal—financial burdens on California public employers and other providers of vital services, exacerbating labor shortages in key sectors,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.
The lawsuit alleged the fee is unconstitutional because the administration exceeded the fee-setting authority granted by Congress and did not go through a notice-and-comment process.
Foreigners in “specialty occupations”—such as tech, science, and medicine—can apply for the temporary work visas, which can last up to six years. The workers must be sponsored by an employer to be accepted into the program.
Congress limits the number of work visas available each year for most private employers, with the current nationwide cap set at 65,000, and an exemption for 20,000 people with a master’s degree or higher.
Bonta and the other states involved in Friday’s lawsuit argued Congress makes decisions about the program’s operations. The states opposing the new fee also said they were concerned that some employers selectively disfavored by the Trump administration would be more likely to be charged the fee.
Bonta said the visa fee is “devastating for all states, including California, and threatens the quality of education, healthcare, and other core services available to our residents.”
The plaintiffs are also concerned that the visa program would worsen the national teacher shortage, as educators are the third-largest occupation among work visa holders.
The other states that have joined in the legal action are Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Friday’s lawsuit is the 49th legal action filed by Bonta against the Trump administration this year.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature, dominated by a Democratic supermajority, set aside $25 million in taxpayer funds last year to pay for litigation against Trump. Bonta spent $5 million of that this year to hire attorneys specifically to handle the extra workload, his press office told The Epoch Times on Dec. 1.
The office is also getting another $14.2 million in this fiscal budget cycle, which runs until June 30, 2026, to hire more attorneys for additional lawsuits against the administration.
“We’re appreciative of [Newsom] and the Legislature for seeing the importance of this work and ensuring our office has the resources we need to take on the fights ahead,” Bonta’s press office said.