Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee draws legal challenge from US states

California and 18 other U.S. states will file a lawsuit on Friday seeking to block President Donald Trump’s $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said. The lawsuit in Massachusetts federal court will be at least the third to challenge the fee announced by Trump in September, which dramatically raises the cost of obtaining H-1B visas. Currently, employers typically pay between $2,000 and $5,000 in fees. Bonta’s office in a release said Trump lacks the power to impose the fee and that it violates federal law, which allows immigration authorities to collect only fees necessary to cover the cost of administering visa programs. The H-1B program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty fields. The tech industry, with many companies headquartered in California, is particularly reliant on workers who receive the visas. Bonta, a Democrat, said the $100,000 fee would create unnecessary financial burdens for providers of vital services such as education and healthcare, exacerbating labor shortages and th

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