A change in immigration rules for skilled workers who want to stay in the UK is "unreasonable and unfair," the High Court has been told.
The HSMP Forum group wants a judicial review of the government's decision to make changes to the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme retrospective.
It says 44,000 people who entered under old rules may be forced out of the UK.
Robert Jay QC, for the government, said it had acted within its powers and was not open to judicial review.
Judge Sir George Newman reserved judgment and said he would give his decision at a future date.
Rules changed
The judge was told that in 2002 the government had introduced the HSMP to encourage highly skilled workers, like doctors, engineers and finance experts, to settle in the UK with their families.
They were assessed on qualifications, experience and earning ability.
"The goalposts have been moved for those previously admitted"
They were originally given entry for a year, but then could apply for a two-year extension, then a further three years before applying for settlement.
But in November 2006, the home secretary changed the rules, so anyone applying to extend their work visa would have to score points based on their education, salary and age.
For the HSMP Forum, Michael Fordham QC said: "The goalposts have been moved for those previously admitted. If they do not have a particular qualification or level of earnings they are required to leave."
'Grossly unfair'
He said the government had not taken account of the fact that ethnic minority communities were often at a disadvantage in the workplace and said migrants should not be ruled out over failing to meet a level of income about which they had never been forewarned.
He said it was a "grossly unfair, massive change to the nature of the programme" visited on non-EU nationals who had left their homes, relatives, friends and jobs to commit themselves to live in the UK.
"Some were simply not doing highly skilled work"
"This is a clear case of breach of legitimate expectation," he said.
The HSMP Forum claims 90% of those who arrived before 2006, about 44,000 people, will no longer qualify to remain in the UK and accuses the government of going back on a promise to let them stay after several years' work.
Last year, MPs from the Joint Committee on Human Rights said the retrospective changes were harsh, unfair, and incompatible with the Human Rights Act.
A Home Office spokeswoman said later the changes were part of the government's commitment to "managing the numbers of foreign workers entering the UK in the national interest".
She said analysis had shown that the previous HSMP test for extending visas were not "sufficiently rigorous to select those migrants who were making the greatest economic contribution to the UK".
"Some were simply not doing highly skilled work," she said.
She added that changes were made "because the government believes that permanent migration must also be a journey towards being as socially integrated as possible".
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