Business Groups Sue U.S. Over H-1B, Other Worker Visa Rules
- U.S. Chamber, manufacturers, retailers say Trump overreached
- Policy is hurting American business across sectors, suit says
Several big U.S. business groups sued the Trump administration seeking to throw out immigration restrictions, including those on H-1B visas issued to highly skilled workers with expertise in specialty fields.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco on Tuesday against the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department, argues that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority last month when he temporarily halted access to several employment-based visas, affecting hundreds of thousands of people seeking to work in the U.S.
The plaintiffs, which include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Retail Federation, seek to overturn “these sweeping and unlawful immigration restrictions that are an unequivocal ‘not welcome’ sign to the engineers, executives, IT experts, doctors, nurses, and other critical workers who help drive the American economy,” Chamber Chief Executive Officer Thomas Donohue said in an emailed statement.
NAM Senior Vice President and General Counsel Linda Kelly said “our industry should be laser-focused on leading our recovery and renewal, but these visa restrictions will hand other countries a competitive advantage because they will drive talented individuals away from the United States.”