H-1B Visa and L-1 Visa Fees Increases per the New Law by the USCIS

Last August 13, 2010, President Barrack Obama signed into law Public Law 111-230, which effectively increased the fees for H-1B Visa and L-1 Visa applications under the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The new law, which will continue to stay in effect until September 30, 2014, requires that particular H-1B Visa applicants pay an additional $2,000, while particular L-1 Visa applicants pay an additional $2,250 to the USCIS on top of existing fees.

However, it has been stated that the additional fees to the USCIS for H-1B Visa and L-1 Visa applications be shouldered by the applicants’ employers, and not by the petitioners themselves. The increase does not affect companies and employees looking to the USCIS to renew or extend the status of their H-1B Visa and L-1 Visa.

Not all employers and H-1B Visa and L-1 Visa applicants are subject to the fee increases, however. Public Law 111-230 only applies to companies and employers who already employ fifty or more employees with more than 50% of their employed staff with a USCIS certified H-1B Visa or L-1 Visa (be it L-1A, L-1B, or L-2) currently working in the United States. For H-1B Visa and L-1 Visa petitioners who fall under any of these categories, they are required to comply with Public Law 111-230 by submitting the additional USCIS fee along with their filing packet for either their H-1B Visa or L-1 Visa application.

On the other hand, petitioners whose company or employers do not fall under the aforementioned criteria are required to submit written evidence, attestation or statements to the USCIS justifying why the new fee increases are not applicable to their H-1B Visa or L-1 Visa application. These evidences or statements should then be submitted to the USCIS alongside any filled out forms, applications and documents pertinent to the H-1B Visa and L-1 Visa petition.

In a teleconference held by the USCIS, it was made clear that H-1B Visa and L-1 Visa applications submitted to the USCIS without the enclosed additional fees will not be out rightly returned or rejected. Instead, the USCIS will promptly issue Requests for Evidence (RFE) for H-1B Visa and L-1 Visa applications where they believe the additional fees are required or the necessary documentation to prove otherwise is either lacking and/or missing.

Public Law 111-230 also explicitly states that these new increases to the H-1B Visa and L-1 Visa petitions come in addition to already existing filing and application charges under the USCIS. For H-1B Visa applications to the USCIS, the additional $2,000 comes on top of the I-129 form fee, the Fraud Fee, the premium processing fee and the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act (ACWIA) fee. For L-1 Visa applications to the USCIS, the additional $2,250 comes on top of the I-129 form fee, the Fraud Fee, and the premium processing fee.