Second Court Challenge to New H-1B Restrictions and $100,000 Fee is Filed

On Thursday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed suit against a September 19 Presidential Proclamation restricting the entry of certain H-1B nonimmigrants and imposing a new $100,000 fee on their employers. The case, Chamber of Commerce v. DHS, Case No. 1:25-cv-03675 (D.D.C., filed October 16, 2025), is the second challenge to be filed against the proclamation and fee.

The proclamation bans certain H-1B specialty occupation nonimmigrants from entering the United States after September 20, 2025, unless their employer has paid a $100,000 fee for each subject employee, the employer has been granted a national interest exception to the entry restrictions, or the employee is otherwise not subject to the fee. Though the government issued some preliminary guidance in an effort to clarify the scope of the proclamation and fee, significant questions remain unanswered. Thus far, USCIS has not imposed the $100,000 fee on H-1B petitions.

The U.S. Chamber’s lawsuit alleges that the proclamation exceeds the President’s authority by improperly attempting to override the federal laws that govern the H-1B program, misapplies the President’s statutory authority to suspend or restrict the entry of foreign nationals, and fails to make sufficient findings to show that the entry of H-1B nonimmigrants would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. The plaintiffs also allege that federal agency actions to implement the proclamation violate the Administrative Procedure Act.

The U.S. Chamber’s lawsuit follows an earlier case, Global Nurse Force v. Trump, Case No. 3:25-cv-08454 (N.D. Ca., filed October 3, 2025), which challenges the proclamation on similar, though not identical, grounds.

It is anticipated that the plaintiffs in one or both lawsuits will seek a preliminary injunction or other interim relief against the H-1B proclamation.