Several US business groups representing multiple industries filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the Trump administration over newly issued limits on work visas. The groups, including the US Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Retail Federation, among others, filed the lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco 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 US.
They challenged the federal restrictions imposed on businesses's ability to meet their workforce needs through lawful immigration. "Our lawsuit seeks 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. Left in place, these restrictions will push investment abroad, inhibit economic growth, and reduce job creation," US Chamber CEO Thomas J. Donohue said in a 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."
The lawsuit, which requests declaratory and injunctive relief, follows President Donald Trump's move last month to slap new limits on foreign workers by suspending the issuance of temporary work visas, including H-1B visas, H-2B visas, H-4 visas, L-1 visas, and certain J-1 visas, through the end of 2020. Business groups immediately hinted at possible legal action against the executive order.
H-1B visas are set aside for skilled workers, especially in the technology industry, and H-4 visas are given to their spouses. H-2B visas apply to seasonal workers; J-1 visas are for researchers and scholars, and L-1 visas are for executives who transfer to the US after working for the same employer abroad.
The complainants argue that it exceeds presidential authority, thus federal departments and officials can't execute it. Although Trump cited the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason for passing the order, it doesn't bear a "rational relationship" to the issue, according to the suit that seeks the court to pass an order terming the curbs unlawful and block them.
