The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) said the organization is supporting a legal challenge to rules making it harder for American companies to obtain H-1B workers.
The challenge to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Labor (DOL) rules was filed in the Northern District of California Federal Court by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Retail Federation, Stanford University, and Cornell University, among others, citing adverse economic impacts and suspect legal procedures. Those filing the brief indicated a preliminary injunction is being sought.
“The new DHS and DOL Rules will dramatically reduce U.S. businesses’ ability to hire these skilled foreign workers—one senior DHS official estimated that they will render ineligible more than one-third of petitions for H-1B visas,” the brief stated. “That will significantly reduce the economic benefits provided by the H-1B program, stunt the U.S. economy’s recovery from the pandemic, and lead to greater reliance by U.S. companies on operations outside of the United States—inflicting long-term damage to our Nation’s economic growth.”
The brief details some 45 organizations “have deep experience with the H-1B visa program and its very significant benefits to individual companies, the U.S. economy, and U.S. workers and defendants cannot demonstrate the good cause required to finalize rules without prior notice and comment, as they did with respect to the DHS and DOL Rules.”