100-Fold Increase Sparks Backlash Over Federal Law Violation
California Attorney General Holds Press Conference with Strong Criticism
The administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump has raised the application fee for the H-1B professional visa to $100,000 (approximately 148 million KRW), prompting 19 state governments to join a lawsuit.
On December 12 (local time), major foreign media outlets including The New York Times reported that California Attorney General Rob Bonta held a press conference, stating, "President Trump does not have the authority to impose this fee, and it violates federal law, which only allows for the collection of costs necessary to operate the visa program." He announced plans to file a lawsuit.
This is the third lawsuit related to the H-1B visa fee, following previous suits filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of various labor unions and employers.
Donald Trump, former President of the United States, signed the notice of increase in H-1B professional visa fees. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News
The states participating in this lawsuit include Massachusetts, New York, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
The H-1B visa is issued for professional occupations in fields such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). It is granted through an annual lottery, with only 85,000 visas issued each year. The initial stay is permitted for three years, with the possibility of extension and the option to apply for permanent residency. As of last year, 71% of visa recipients were Indian nationals, while 11.7% were Chinese nationals.
The Trump administration has believed that companies use the H-1B visa, which is predominantly held by Chinese and Indian nationals, to bring in foreign workers at lower costs, thereby taking jobs away from Americans. In September, President Trump signed a proclamation raising the H-1B visa fee to $100,000, which is 100 times the current fee of $1,000 (about 1.48 million KRW). As a result, not only American businesses but also the medical and education sectors have expressed strong dissatisfaction.
The State Department has sent an official notice to U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide, instructing consular staff to review the resumes or LinkedIn profiles of H-1B visa applicants and their accompanying family members. This is to verify whether the applicants or their families have worked in areas such as providing false or misleading information, content management, fact-checking, compliance, or online safety.
The State Department further instructed, "If there is evidence that an applicant is responsible for or involved in censorship or attempts at censorship regarding 'expression' protected in the United States, consular staff should seek to conclude that the applicant is ineligible for a visa." The Trump administration has held the view that conservative voices are being suppressed online through censorship.
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