Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general in suing the Trump administration over its unlawful policy imposing a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions for highly-skilled foreign national workers. 

In the lawsuit that will be filed, Raoul and the coalition allege the policy implemented by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) violates the law because it charges an additional, unwarranted fee that is contrary to Congress’ intent in establishing H-1B visas to temporarily fill positions in specialty occupations, like physicians, researchers, nurses and teachers. Additionally, the fee bypasses required rulemaking procedures and exceeds the authority granted to the executive branch under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).  

“The $100,000 visa fee is devastating for all states, including Illinois, and threatens the quality of education, healthcare, and other core services available to our residents,” Raoul said. “The H-1B visa is essential to alleviate nationwide labor shortages, and I will continue to work with fellow attorneys general in protecting this critical program.”  

President Trump issued a proclamation in September imposing an unprecedented $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa petitions, undermining the purpose of the program and making it harder to address severe labor shortages in critical fields. The policy affects any visa application filed after Sept. 21, 2025, and purports to grant the Secretary of Homeland Security broad discretion to determine which petitions are subject to the fee or eligible for an exemption. Raoul and the coalition are concerned that this unjustified measure could be applied selectively against employers disfavored by the Trump administration.  

Raoul and the coalition’s lawsuit explains that Congress has on many occasions since the H-1B visa program’s inception modified it to meet employers’ labor needs while protecting the interests of American workers to ensure that they are not wrongfully displaced. For example, Congress has enhanced enforcement, increased penalties, and set fees though legislation for to prevent misuse of the program. 

In petitioning for an H-1B worker, employers must submit an application to show employment of the H-1B worker will not negatively affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers. 

Fees associated with H-1B visas have long been established by DHS following the APA’s notice-and-comment process pursuant to congressional authority, which limits fees to a reasonable amount necessary to administer the program. Typically, an employer filing an initial H-1B petition would expect to pay between $960 to $7,595 in regulatory and statutory fees. The Trump administration’s $100,000 fee far exceeds the actual cost of processing H-1B petitions. By imposing this additional fee, Raoul and the attorneys general argue that the administration is acting arbitrarily and exceeding the fee-setting authority granted by Congress. 

Additionally, the Trump administration issued the fee without going through the notice-and-comment process required by the APA and without considering the full range of impacts. 

Raoul and the coalition’s lawsuit state hospitals and other healthcare centers rely on the H-1B visa program to hire physicians, surgeons and nurses. Without foreign-trained physicians, the United States is projecting a shortfall of 86,000 physicians by 2036. Additionally, educators are the third-largest occupation for H-1B visa holders, with nearly 30,000 educators receiving the visas, and nearly a thousand colleges and universities employ hundreds of H-1B personnel to support their research and education missions. 

In Illinois’ 2023-2024 school year, 3,684 teaching positions remained unfilled. The lawsuit explains that rising H-1B visa costs are disrupting international recruitment to address staffing needs. Some Illinois schools rely on the H-1B program to hire specialized staff for difficult to fill positions, including bilingual teachers, special education teachers, and bilingual speech-language pathologists. 

Joining Raoul in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin in filing the lawsuit.