WASHINGTON

The US Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the Trump administration’s newly imposed $100,000 fee on H-1B visa petitions.

It called the rule an "unlawful" barrier to American businesses’ access to global talent.

"The new $100,000 visa fee will make it cost-prohibitive for U.S. employers, especially start-ups and small and midsize businesses, to utilize the H-1B program, which was created by Congress expressly to ensure that American businesses of all sizes can access the global talent they need to grow their operations here in the U.S.," Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer at the business advocacy group said in a statement.

In September, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation demanding that companies pay $100,000 per year for H-1B worker visas. The overhaul is intended to curb what the administration describes as widespread abuse of the visa system -- particularly companies using it to replace US tech workers with lower-cost foreign labor.

The move represents the administration’s latest push to tighten immigration controls and could have far-reaching effects on sectors that rely extensively on H-1B visa holders.