The US Chamber of Commerce has filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s one lakh dollar fee on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers. The Chamber stated that the fee will force businesses that rely on the H-1B programme to choose between dramatically increasing their labour costs or hiring fewer highly-skilled workers. Employers who sponsor H-1B workers currently typically pay between 2,000 and 5,000 dollars in fees, depending on the size of the company and other factors.
The rise in H-1B fees is also being challenged by unions, employers, and religious groups in a California federal court.
Mr. Trump signed a proclamation last month imposing an annual fee of one lakh dollars on H-1B visa applications. A senior official from the US administration clarified that the steep fee will apply only to fresh H-1B visa petitions and not to the existing holders or those seeking renewals. The measure has raised serious concerns regarding its implications on Indian tech professionals and the flow of remittances, with nearly 71 per cent of all H-1B visas being granted to Indian citizens.
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