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Vice President JD Vance sparred with Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, whose state is leading a multistate lawsuit against the Trump administration over President Donald Trump’s order to impose a $100,000 fee for H1B skilled-worker visas.
In September, Trump ordered the Department of Homeland Security to restrict decisions on petitions for H-1B visa applicants outside the U.S. for a period of one year – while allowing current visa holders to seek renewals under the previous, lower-cost framework.
Rayfield, a Democrat, announced on Friday that Oregon and 18 other states allege the new $100,000 fee is unlawful, claiming the “massive” amount being outside congressional authorization and intent for its establishment of the visa program.
“You might try hiring Americans,” Vance said in a social media reply to Rayfield’s announcement.
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In his tweet that drew Vance’s attention, Rayfield said the H-1B visa system allows employers – including Oregon’s colleges – to hire “skilled foreign workers in specialized roles like physicians, researchers, & nurses.”
Vance’s view was previously boosted by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who called the H-1B system a “scam” that is “used to import cheap foreign labor at the expense of Americans.”
Vance later added to his criticism, saying the situation is “instructive” of why the visa issue is important.
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“While I know there are many people in our coalition who – rightly — are angry about immigration fraud in our visa system, ‘America Last’ Republicans and Democrats are teaming up to stop our efforts to address these issues,” he said.
“Don’t black pill. Fight back,” he added.
In announcing the lawsuit, Rayfield’s office said the $100,000 fee exceeds the authority granted the executive branch by the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 – a law that sponsor Sen. Patrick McCarran, D-Nev., characterized as the “bill of rights” for entities regulated by the federal government.
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Rayfield’s office calculated the average H-1B visa fees range froom $960 and $7,600 – and faulted the administration for not advertising the fee through the typical notice-and-comment process under McCarran’s law.
It also suggested the fee undermines Trump’s stated purpose for it: addressing labor shortages in critical business fields.
“Oregon’s colleges, universities and research institutions rely on skilled international workers to keep labs running, courses on track and innovation moving forward,” Rayfield said in a statement.
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“This enormous fee would make it nearly impossible for these institutions to hire the experts they need, and it goes far beyond what Congress ever intended. This threatens Oregon’s ability to compete, educate, and grow.”
In announcing the original order, the White House said that the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Program was “created to bring temporary workers into the United States to perform additive, high-skilled functions, but has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor.”
Other states, including Delaware and California also joined the suit, with Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings calling Trump’s order an “unserious idea that threatens a deeply serious crisis.”
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Former Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan also pressed for an increase in the similar H-2B visas in 2021, given the Old Line State’s massive crabbing and seasonal fishing sectors.
Fox News Digital reached out to Rayfield as well as Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek for comment on Vance’s remarks.
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