Seattle, Oct 4 (AP) In what appears to be the first major challenge to the new USD 100,000 fee required for H-1B visa applications, a coalition of health care providers, religious groups, university professors and others filed a federal lawsuit Friday to stop the plan, saying it has “thrown employers, workers and federal agencies into chaos.” President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on September 19 requiring the new fee, saying the H-1B visa program “has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labour.” The changes were slated to go into effect in 36 hours, which caused panic for employers, who instructed their workers to return to the US immediately.

The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in San Francisco, said the H-1B program is a critical pathway to hiring healthcare workers and educators. It drives innovation and economic growth in the US, and allows employers to fill jobs in specialised fields, the lawsuit said.

“Without relief, hospitals will lose medical staff, churches will lose pastors, classrooms will lose teachers, and industries across the country risk losing key innovators,” Democracy Forward Foundation and Justice Action Centre said in a press release. “The suit asks the court to immediately block the order and restore predictability for employers and workers.” They called the new fee “Trump's latest anti-immigration power grab.” Messages seeking comment from the Department of Homeland Security and US Customs and Border Protection, which are named as defendants along with Trump and the State Department, were not immediately returned.

The H-1B visa program was created by Congress to attract high-skilled workers to fill jobs that tech companies find difficult to fill. About a third of H-1B workers are nurses, teachers, physicians, scholars, priests and pastors, according to the lawsuit.

Critics say the program is a pipeline for overseas workers who are often willing to work for as little as USD 60,000 annually, well below the USD 100,000-plus salaries typically paid to US technology workers.

Historically, H-1B visas have been doled out through a lottery. This year, Seattle-based Amazon was by far the top recipient of H-1B visas with more than 10,000 awarded, followed by Tata Consultancy, Microsoft, Apple and Google. Geographically, California has the highest number of H-1B workers.

The USD 100,000 fee will discourage the best and brightest minds from bringing life-saving research to the U.S., said Todd Wolfson, president of the American Association of University Professors.

Mike Miller, Region 6 Director of the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, said Trump's plan “prioritizes wealth and connections over scientific acumen and diligence." Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, contends the “exorbitant fee” invites corruption and is illegal. Congress created the program and Trump can't rewrite it overnight or levy new taxes by executive order, the groups said. (AP) MPL MPL