US district court rejects H-1B fee visa hike challenge case, IT stocks slip

The United States District Court of Columbia has dismissed case filed by the largest US business lobby group, US Chamber of Commerce & the Association of American Universities challenging the Trump’s authority to hike visa fees through a proclamation. On September 19th, US President Trump signed a Presidential Proclamation which increased the fee for fresh H-1B visa to $100,000 from the current $2000-$5000 starting next year.  

Earlier in October, the case filed by USCC contended that though the President has authority under the Immigrations and Nationality Act , that authority does not, and cannot, empower him to override existing statutory provisions and programs. It also argued that that any implementation of the Proclamation by any agency of the United States will also violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).  The business association had contended that an estimated 730,000 H-1B visa holders currently working in specialized fields across the American economy were critical to the success and growth of American businesses.  

Judge Beryl A. Howell who presided the case, in her order noted that, “ In short, contrary to plaintiffs’ critique, the Proclamation provides ample support for the clear findings articulated as the basis for the action taken to suspend or impose restrictions on new H-1B visa holders, and this meets the prerequisite for invocation of § 1182(f) authority.” The Judge also further noted that the President’s action did not exceed the congressional delegation of authority.  

The order further noted noted that in the case both USCC and AAU fail to establish how the proclamation conflicts with or overrides other provision Immigrations and Nationality Act. “ Furthermore, the Proclamation does nothing to upset the statutory requirement that individuals receiving H-1B visas need to be “engaged in a specialty occupation,” meaning an occupation requiring “theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge, and . . . attainment of a bachelor’s or higher degree in the specific specialty. Employers will still be able to seek H-1B visas on behalf of individuals who are not the “best of the best,” but the cost for employers to do so will be higher,” the 23rd December order read.  

Following the court order, in a statement Daryl Joseffer, Executive Vice President and Chief Counsel of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the $100,000 fee for each H-1B visa is a prohibitive cost for businesses to afford, especially small- and medium-sized businesses. “We are disappointed in the court’s decision and are considering further legal options to ensure that the H-1B visa program can operate as Congress intended: to enable American businesses of all sizes to access the global talent they need to grow their operations,” the statement said.  

 While Indian IT companies are adapting to the newer visa challenges being posed by the US administration, the Indian large cap stocks all saw weak opening. HCL Tech and Infosys stocks were down by 0.24% and 0.64% respectively; Tech M was down 0.89%.