California Attorney General Takes Trump Administration to Court Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over imposition of the $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions. Bonta leads a coalition of 20 other attorneys general challenging the mandate, which could also affect workforce availability in Santa Barbara.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleges that the Trump administration’s new visa fee violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the U.S. Constitution.

The new $100,000 visa fee is also likely to impact workforce availability in Santa Barbara, where H-1B positions pay higher salaries than the national average, according to ZipRecruiter data.

International recruits are typically used to fill vacancies in home construction, outside sales engineer roles, B2B sales representative positions, territory outside sales manager roles, and car sales representative jobs in Santa Barbara, ZipRecruiter stated.

One of the key entities in the area hiring H-1B workers is the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). The university sponsors H-1B visas for foreign workers, particularly in academic and research roles.

President Trump issued a proclamation on September 19, 2025, ordering a steep $100,000 fee for new visa petitions.

However, according to Bonta, the new fee undermines the “very purpose of the H-1B visa by making it harder to address severe labor shortages in critical fields, such as education and healthcare, and ultimately worsening the staffing crisis.”

For all applications filed after September 21, 2025, the Secretary of Homeland Security will have the discretion to determine which petitions can be exempted from the fee. This raises concerns that the enforcement “could be applied selectively against employers disfavored by the Trump administration,” Bonta said. 

‘Unnecessary, Illegal Financial Burden’

“President Trump’s illegal $100,000 H-1B visa fee creates unnecessary — and illegal — financial burdens on California public employers and other providers of vital services, exacerbating labor shortages in key sectors,” the California attorney general noted. 

The fee will be a “costly barrier” for employers, especially in the public sector and government, trying to fill these positions, he said.

It also imposes a “massive fee outside of the bounds” authorized by Congress and contrary to Congress’s intent in creating the H-1B program, bypasses required rulemaking processes, and exceeds the authority granted to the executive branch under the APA, according to Bonta.

Under the H-1B visa program, employers can submit petitions for highly-skilled international workers to temporarily fill positions in specialty occupations that require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree. Employers are required to submit an application clarifying that the employment of the H-1B worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers. 

Currently, the cap on H-1B visas for private employers is set at 65,000, with an exemption of 20,000 for those with a master’s degree or higher. 

Political Opposition to New Fee

Stating that the $100,000 visa fee is “devastating for all states, including California,” Bonta said it threatens the quality of education, healthcare, and other core services. 

The education and healthcare sectors heavily depend on the H-1B visa program across the country, according to the statement. 

“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 the amount necessary to sustain the agency’s work,” Bonta said. 

In the initial H-1B petition, employers are typically required to pay between $960 to $7,595 in regulatory and statutory fees, and the new fee “far exceeds the actual cost of processing H-1B petitions,” according to the statement. 

Bonta also alleged that the Trump administration bypassed the notice-and-comment process required by the APA and did not consider the full range of impacts before issuing the new fee. 

California is joined by Massachusetts, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin in filing the lawsuit.