(CNN) — A coalition of blue states is suing the Trump administration over its fee of $100,000 for H-1B Visas, several Democratic attorneys general announced on Friday.
The Trump administration announced in September that it would be implementing the fee for H-1B visas, citing that the program for the visas is overused. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, joined by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and New York Attorney General Letitia James and others, is leading the suit.
H-1B visas allow foreign professionals to seek work in professions that are considered to be more specialized. Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree or a similar equivalent to be eligible for the visa.
The liberal attorneys general allege that new policy and fee, which is implemented by the Department of Homeland Security, is out of bounds of what is authorized by Congress for the program.
“Congress has refined this program, setting caps, establishing fees, enhancing enforcement and strengthening protections, but what Congress has never done is authorize a president to impose a six-figure surcharge designed to dismantle the program entirely,” Bonta said at a press conference on Friday.
Bonta said the visa fee will create financial burdens on state and private employers, creating a barrier to filling job vacancies.
He also underscored just how many employees in the United States rely on the H-1B visa program, citing the thousands of health care professionals, educators and researchers, among other occupations, that use the program. Bonta claimed nearly 30,000 educators nationwide hold an H-1B visa, and 17,000 H-1B visa holders last year were health care professionals.
Bonta said during the press conference the state of California has filed 49 lawsuits against the Trump administration since they took office in January.
“The bottom line is, no presidential administration can rewrite immigration law,” Bonta said. “No president can destabilize our schools, our hospitals and universities on a whim, and no president can ignore the co-equal branch of government, of Congress, ignore the Constitution or ignore the law.”
CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment on the lawsuit. The Justice Department declined to comment.
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