A lawsuit challenging the $100,000 charge imposed by Donald Trump on H-1B visas was filed in federal court in San Francisco by a coalition of unions, corporations, and religious organizations.
This was the first legal challenge to the president's declaration. Phoenix Doe, an Indian woman who has been severely impacted by the fee increase, was mentioned in the lawsuit.The lawsuit claims that Phoenix Doe, an Indian citizen, lives in California's Northern District.
Because of the $100,000 cost required by the Proclamation, her cap-exempt H-1B petition has been blocked.
She is a postdoctoral researcher at a US university.
In order to develop novel methods for diagnosing and treating blinding illnesses, Doe's study focuses on determining the genetic and epigenetic reasons of vision loss brought on by age, diseases like diabetes, and uncommon inherited genetic abnormalities of unknown etiology.
According to the lawsuit, Doe's laboratory needs at least two more years to continue her work since it depends on her as its first postdoctoral fellow to develop and progress its research program.
"Due to the value of her skills and research expertise in both computational biology as well as wet lab bench research, her university employer approved her for H-1B sponsorship, and she expected the process to be completed by this December, allowing her to visit her home country for the first time in six years," said the statement.
Instead, the university has put an indefinite hold on completing her application because of the Proclamation.
The instability of her job is causing her to experience crippling stress and anxiety, which makes her PTSD worse.
Plaintiff Phoenix will suffer severe professional and personal harm if she is not granted relief, as she will have to quit her postdoctoral job in the United States within four months.
The lawsuit claimed that her departure would hinder the lab's ability to continue its work and obtain future research funding, hinder her department's ability to obtain any future funding through her, and possibly delay the availability of treatment for the conditions she is researching.
