A lawsuit was launched on Thursday by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce against a Presidential Proclamation from September 19 that limited the immigration of specific H-1B nonimmigrants and charged their employers a new $100,000 fee. The proclamation and charge are the subject of the second challenge, which is Chamber of Commerce v. DHS.
After September 20, 2025, the proclamation prohibits certain H-1B speciality occupation nonimmigrants from entering the country unless their employer has paid a $100,000 fee for each subject employee, the employer has been granted an exemption from the entry restrictions due to national interest, or the employee is exempt from the fee. Even though the government released some initial guidelines to help define the proclamation’s and fee’s scope, important questions still need to be addressed. The $100,000 fee for H-1B petitions has not yet been applied by USCIS.
According to the U.S. Chamber’s lawsuit, the proclamation violates the President’s statutory authority to suspend or restrict foreign nationals’ entry, improperly attempts to supersede federal laws governing the H-1B program, and fails to provide enough evidence to demonstrate that the entry of H-1B nonimmigrants would be harmful to the interests of the United States. Additionally, the plaintiffs claim that the Administrative Procedure Act was violated by federal agency acts to carry out the proclamation. The complaint from the U.S. Chamber comes after another case, Global Nurse Force v. Trump, that contested the proclamation on comparable but distinct grounds.
Luke Bowman Law will continue to monitor and update the situation. If you have questions regarding your specific situation, feel free to contact us or book an appointment here
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Luke Bowman
The Law offices of Luke Bowman