A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday set aside two Trump administration policies that required employers to pay foreign workers on H-1B visas significantly higher wages and narrowed eligibility for the program valued by U.S. tech firms and other employers.
The departments of Labor and Homeland Security each issued visa rules in early October as part of a long-awaited tightening of the H-1B visa program, which the Trump administration argues undercuts American workers by allowing employers to hire foreign counterparts for coveted positions, sometimes at lower salaries.
The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, one of three legal challenges filed against the policy changes.
“This ruling has many companies across various industries breathing a huge sigh of relief today,” said Jon Baselice, director of immigration policy for the Chamber of Commerce. “Both of these rules had the potential to be incredibly disruptive to the operations of many businesses.”
In a 23-page order, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White of the Northern District of California took issue with the way the policies were issued on an emergency basis, bypassing a customary comment period.
