California Leads 20 States in Suing the Trump Administration Over the $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
On December 12, 2025, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell led a coalition of 20 state attorneys general in suing the Trump administration in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, challenging its policy imposing a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions and asking the court to declare the policy unlawful and set it aside. The complaint is docketed as Case No. 1:25-cv-13829.
H-1B visas allow U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in roles requiring specialized skills, including physicians, researchers, nurses and teachers, to alleviate nationwide labor shortages. On September 19, 2025, President Trump issued Proclamation 10973 imposing an unprecedented $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions, applying to petitions filed after September 21.
The states allege that the fee, implemented by the Department of Homeland Security, imposes a massive charge outside the bounds of what Congress authorized, bypasses required rulemaking procedures, and violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Constitution. "The Trump Administration thinks it can raise costs on a whim, but the law says otherwise," Bonta said, adding that the states were going to court to defend their residents' access to world-class universities, schools and hospitals. It is California's 49th lawsuit against the Trump administration this year and at least the third suit challenging the H-1B fee.
The coalition also includes the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. A White House spokesperson defended the policy the same day, saying the fee is intended to put American workers first.
Source: California Attorney General's Office
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于美国加利福尼亚州 Sacramento 市的加州议会大厦（资料照片）。Andre m 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons；加州固定图库标准图。 / Photo: The California State Capitol in Sacramento, California (file photo). Photo by Andre m, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; California fixed-library image.
