The Trump administration on Monday introduced a regulation to make a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visas permanent, despite courts blocking previous efforts.

A federal judge declared the new fee for highly skilled foreign workers illegal in June after the administration temporarily imposed it last year.

H-1B visas are heavily relied upon in the tech, education, and research sectors.

“If an American corporation needs workers, it should hire and train Americans,” Vice President JD Vance commented.

Reuters has more:

A Boston-based appeals court is reviewing that decision while a different court considers whether a judge properly ​rejected a challenge to the fee by a major business group.

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Trump’s temporary fee increase expires in September, one year after it was issued. ​The proposed rule by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, posted in the Federal Register on Monday, would make a ⁠fee of $103,265 permanent. It could be finalized by the end of the year.

The H-1B program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers with training in specialty ​fields and offers 65,000 visas annually, with another 20,000 for workers with advanced degrees, approved for three to six years. Those visas typically came with fees between $2,000 ​and $5,000 before Trump’s order.

The fee would not apply to visas granted to foreign citizens already in the United States on student visas, who make up a large share of new H-1B recipients, or to renewals of current visas.

“Revenue from the fee would be used to run the legal immigration system, including funding for ICE,” The Washington Post wrote.

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The Independent shared further:

According to court filings, roughly 70 employers had paid the $100,000 fee on 85 visa applications as of late February.

In implementing the charge, Trump invoked executive authority under immigration law to restrict foreign nationals whose entry would be detrimental to U.S. interests.

The lawsuit opposing the fee was brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Democratic-led states, and a coalition of unions and employers. These legal filings could be amended to target the proposed rule once finalized.

Litigants argue executive authority to limit entry cannot override laws establishing the H-1B program. They also contend Homeland Security cannot impose fees or raise federal revenue without congressional approval.

The Trump administration maintains the charge is not a standard tax and that courts have limited power to question presidential authority regarding national entry restrictions.

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