AAUP, Other Unions Sue Trump Admin Over H-1B Fee

"The fee, the complaint states, "will result in significant and potentially catastrophic setbacks to research that benefits the American public and ensures the United States remains a leading source of innovation and expertise. For example, the fee will likely result in sharp cutbacks in the employment of highly talented foreign workers and severe setbacks for university research, graduate programs, and clinical care, compounding an anticipated shortfall of 5.3 million skilled workers over the next decade.""

"The lawsuit highlights several specific examples of researchers whose work would be interrupted by this change, including an unnamed plaintiff who studies conditions and diseases that cause blindness. "Her departure will set back the crucial research she is conducting, disrupting the lab's ongoing work and ability to secure future research funding, preventing her department from getting any future funding through her, and potentially delaying the availability of treatment for the conditions that are the focus of her research," it states."

"The plaintiffs, which include the American Association of University Professors, UAW International and UAW Local 481, allege in the lawsuit that numerous researchers and academics will lose their jobs as a result of their institutions not being able to afford the new fee. (An H-1B visa previously cost $2,000 to $5,000.) Universities, along with national labs and nonprofit research institutions, were also exempt from the annual cap on the number of new visas, and it's unclear whether the new fee will apply to higher ed."

Unions representing university faculty and staff filed suit challenging a proposed $100,000 fee for new H-1B visas. Plaintiffs argue the fee will make hiring highly skilled foreign researchers unaffordable for many universities, national labs, and nonprofit research institutions, causing job losses and disrupting ongoing research. The complaint warns of sharp cutbacks in foreign talent employment, setbacks to university research, graduate programs, and clinical care, and a compounded shortfall of 5.3 million skilled workers over the next decade. The complaint cites specific researchers whose projects and funding would be interrupted and notes uncertainty about higher-education exemptions.

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