The White House on Friday defended the Trump administration's policy to limit legal immigration via the popular H-1B visa and vowed to fight lawsuits in court. The US Chamber of Commerce last week sued the government over the new $100,000 fee on H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers.
"The administration will fight these lawsuits in court. The president's main priority has always been to put American workers first and to strengthen our visa system," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
She alleged that the H-1B visa system has been "spammed with fraud", and that has driven down American wages. "So the president wants to refine this system, which is part of the reason he implemented these new policies. These actions are lawful, they are necessary, and we'll continue to fight this battle in court," Leavitt said.
The fee "will make it cost-prohibitive" for US employers to use the programme, said Neil Bradley, Chief Policy Officer at the pro-business group.
The $100,000 fee "will make it cost-prohibitive" for American employers to use the programme, Neil Bradley, Chief Policy Officer at the pro-business group US Chamber of Commerce, has said.
Trump signed an executive order in September instituting the fee, arguing the visa programme has been abused. Critics have said it undercuts the American workforce. It is used heavily by the US tech sector, both by major companies and small startups.
The White House responded to the suit by calling the fee lawful and a "necessary, initial, incremental step towards necessary reforms" to the programme.
The move drew the ire of tech executives, including billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk, who have argued that the H-1B programme enables the US to attract top talent from around the world.
Musk, Microsoft's Satya Nadella, and Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google-parent Alphabet, are among the executives who began their careers in the US on H-1B visas.
(With inputs from ANI)
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