White House defends $100,000 H-1B visa fee amid lawsuits, "system spammed with fraud"

The White House has defended its controversial $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications, even as multiple lawsuits have been filed against the policy.

At a press briefing on Thursday (local time), White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the H-1B visa system has been misused for years, leading to lower wages for American workers. She said the new fee and related reforms aim to stop fraud and prioritize domestic workers.

Leavitt told reporters that the administration would fight the lawsuits in court, emphasizing that the president’s main priority had always been to put American workers first and to strengthen the visa system. She said that for far too long, the H-1B visa system had been plagued by fraud, which had driven down American wages. Leavitt added that the president wanted to refine the system, which was one of the reasons he had implemented the new policies. She asserted that these actions were lawful and necessary, and that the administration would continue to fight the battle in court.

Her comments come as the US Chamber of Commerce, along with unions, employers, and religious groups, has filed lawsuits in federal courts in California and Washington, DC. The suits claim the $100,000 visa fee is unlawful and harms US industries.

The Chamber of Commerce argues that the new policy violates the Immigration and Nationality Act, which requires visa fees to reflect government processing costs. It says the rule will make it too expensive for companies to use the H-1B program.

Neil Bradley, Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer at the Chamber, said that the new $100,000 visa fee would make it cost-prohibitive for U.S. employers—especially start-ups and small and midsize businesses—to use the H-1B program, which Congress had created to ensure that American businesses of all sizes could access the global talent they needed to grow their operations in the United States.

He added that President Trump had embarked on an ambitious agenda to secure permanent pro-growth tax reforms, unleash American energy, and roll back overregulation that had stifled growth. Bradley said that the Chamber and its members had actively supported these proposals to attract more investment in America, and that to sustain this growth, the U.S. economy would require more workers, not fewer.

A coalition of unions, educators, and religious organisations has also filed the first major lawsuit against the fee, calling it “arbitrary and capricious.”

The H-1B visa allows US companies to hire skilled foreign workers, a large share of whom are Indian IT professionals. The new $100,000 charge marks a sharp increase from the current cost of a few thousand dollars. The amount will be collected in addition to existing vetting fees, with the administration still deciding whether it will be paid annually or up front.

The Chamber of Commerce has warned that the change could lead companies to scale back or abandon the H-1B program. Major technology firms such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are among those expected to be affected.