Michigan joins lawsuit over H-1B visas. How to track federal court actions

Michigan Legal professional Basic Dana Nessel has filed a lawsuit together with nineteen attorneys basic from different Democratic-led states President Donald Trump on imposing a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications.

In Michigan, almost 12,000 people are employed by way of H-1B visas, which permit firms to rent extremely certified overseas staff; they’ve positions that require particular abilities, together with medical doctors, researchers and nurses from others, a press release say. About 1,300 companies in Michigan make use of visa holders.

“The H-1B visa program is designed to draw and retain extremely certified staff, and imposing a large payment on the very individuals who assist educate our college students, preserve our auto business aggressive and supply vital medical care will not be solely unlawful however dangerous to Michiganders,” Nessel stated. “If allowed to face, these illegal insurance policies would solely undermine our financial stability and weaken the industries that households in our state rely upon.”

The court case is simply the most recent Michigan legal professional basic to signal on.

Together with the most recent case involving H1-B visas, Nessel has joined lawsuits in opposition to the Trump administration a number of occasions over points equivalent to cuts to the U.S. Division of Training, birthright rights, and the defunding of federal funds.

Michigan Legal professional Basic’s web site lists ‘federal motion’ tracker“which permits folks to trace the AG’s actions in opposition to the federal government in what Nessel calls a “response to varied illegal federal insurance policies and orders.”

The most recent lawsuit was filed after President Trump issued a proclamation on September 19, 2025 ordering a $100,000 payment for a brand new H-1B visa software.

Within the lawsuit, Nessel and the opposite attorneys basic allege that the Trump administration’s H-1B visa payment violates the Administrative Process Act and the U.S. Structure as a result of it “imposes a large payment that’s past the bounds of what Congress has approved, conflicts with Congress’ intent in creating the H-1B program, circumvents required regulatory procedures, and exceeds the authority granted to the manager department below the Administrative Process Act (APA).”

Here is what you’ll want to know in regards to the tracker.

What’s an H-1B visa program?

The H-1B visa program permits employers to petition for extremely expert overseas staff to briefly fill positions in specialised occupations that require no less than a bachelor’s diploma.

In Michigan, Nearly 12,000 individuals are currently employed through H-1B visas.

“When submitting a request for an H-1B employee, the employer should submit an software licensed by the U.S. Division of Labor certifying that the H-1B employee’s employment won’t adversely have an effect on the wages and dealing situations of comparable U.S. staff,” Nessel’s workplace stated.

Congress limits the number of H-1B visas out there every year to most personal employers, with the present cap set at 65,000, though there’s an exemption for 20,000 people with a grasp’s diploma or larger.

Which Michigan firms sought essentially the most H-1B purposes?

In the budget year 2025US Citizenship and Immigration Companies has listed the H-1B visa numbers accepted for Michigan companies. These are the perfect recipients:

1. Ford, 649
2. Basic Motors, 574
3. College of Michigan, 333
4. Atos Syntel Inc., 266
5. HCL World Techniques Inc., 186
6. HCL World Companies Inc., 179
7. FCA US LLC, 171
8. Populus Group LLC, 141
9. TATA Elxsi Restricted, 104
10. Henry Ford Well being System, 102
11. Ally financial institution, 101
12. Aptive Company, 87
13. KPIT Applied sciences Inc., 85
14. Robert Bosch LLC, 78
15. United Wholesale Mortgage, 77
16. Akkodis Inc., 71
17. Michigan State College, 71
18. Rocket Mortgage LLC, 69
19. Epitec Inc., 68
20. Tata Applied sciences Inc., 68
21. Miracle Software program Techniques, 66
22. Technosoft Company, 60
23. Alix Companions LLP, 57
24. Stryker Company, 52
25. Wayne State College, 48
26. Blue Cross Blue Protect of Michigan, 45
27. Peak Trick Corp, 44
28. Strategic Workforce Options, 43
29. Credit score acceptance firm, 38
30. Ford Motor Credit score Firm, 36
31. Infostretch Company, 35
32. Manga Electronics, 35
33. Altaïr Expertise, 34
34. Altair Product Design, 33
35. Domino’s Pizza, 33
36. Aptive US Companies Basic, 32
37. Whirlpool Firm, 32
38. Comerica Administration, 31
39. BorgWarner PDS USA, 28
40. Dependable Software program Sources, 27
41. Flagstarbank, 27

Methods to see the Michigan legal professional basic’s Trump administration tracker

Michigan Department of Attorney General Workplace presents a tracker for federal lawsuits on its web site website.

The tracker consists of info equivalent to hyperlinks to the lawsuit criticism (which lists all plaintiffs), when a case was filed, the identify of the case, press releases associated to the case, a abstract of the case in Nessel’s phrases, and the standing of every case.

Along with itemizing lawsuits to which Michigan has change into a celebration, the tracker additionally lists all circumstances through which Nessel’s workplace has written an amicus curiae temporary. The time period means “good friend of the court docket” in Latin and is a document with legal arguments from a person or group that’s not a celebration to a case however could have a major curiosity within the challenge into consideration, in keeping with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Companies.

What number of occasions has Michigan’s legal professional basic sued the Trump administration?

As of Dec. 16, Nessel had sued the Trump administration 39 occasions since he took workplace in January 2025, the net tracker says.

The quantity doesn’t embrace the most recent case on H-1B visas.

In any case, Nessel has additionally filed a report 54 amicus briefs in opposition to actions by the Trump administration.

Who’s Dana Nessel?

A former public prosecutor and civil rights legal professional Nessel, a Democrat, was sworn in as Michigan’s 54th legal professional basic on Jan. 1, 2019, in keeping with a biography on her marketing campaign web site.

A graduate of the College of Michigan and Wayne State College Legislation College, Nessel lives in southeastern Michigan along with her spouse Alanna Maguire and her twin sons Alex and Zach.

Which states sued Trump over H-1B visas?

Legal professional Basic Nessel is joined in submitting the lawsuit by the attorneys basic of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The Free Press and Lansing State Journal contributed to this story.

Jalen Williams is a trending reporter on the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.