US Expands $4,000 H-1B Fee to Cover Certain Visa Extensions
Washington — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is expanding an existing immigration fee to cover certain H-1B and L-1 visa extension petitions, potentially increasing costs for companies that employ large numbers of foreign professionals.
Under a final rule taking effect Sept. 9, qualifying employers will have to pay a $4,000 fee for covered H-1B petitions and $4,500 for covered L-1 petitions when seeking extensions of a worker’s authorized status, even if the employee remains with the same company.
The requirement applies to employers with at least 50 employees in the United States if more than half of their U.S. workforce is collectively in H-1B, L-1A or L-1B status.
The charges, known as the 9/11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee, have generally been collected when covered employers file petitions for initial employment or to change an employee’s employer. Extensions filed by the same employer for the same worker were generally not subject to the fee when a separate fraud-prevention fee did not apply.
DHS said the new rule corrects its previous interpretation of federal law and requires covered employers to pay the biometric fee on all petitions seeking an extension of status, regardless of whether the fraud prevention and detection fee is also required.
The amounts themselves are not changing. Instead, DHS is expanding the types of petitions subject to the existing fees. Amended petitions that do not seek an extension of a worker’s authorized status will remain exempt.
Employers, rather than visa holders, are responsible for paying the fees. DHS rejected proposals that would have allowed employees to cover the cost when their employers declined to do so, saying federal law places the payment obligation on employers.
The change could indirectly affect Indian technology workers and other skilled foreign professionals if employers reconsider the expense of repeatedly extending visas. During the rulemaking process, commenters argued that the additional costs could discourage employers from retaining H-1B workers and particularly affect employees facing lengthy waits for employment-based green cards.
DHS rejected those concerns, saying the requirement applies to a relatively narrow group of employers and that the fees represent a small portion of the overall cost of employing foreign professionals.
The department also said it does not expect the expanded fee to significantly reduce H-1B hiring, noting that demand for the visas has exceeded annual availability for more than a decade.
DHS estimates the change will generate an additional $37.9 million in fiscal 2026 and $40 million in fiscal 2027.
The department said that between fiscal 2018 and 2025, about 27% of H-1B petitions filed by employers covered by the law were subject to the biometric fee. Under the new interpretation, about 75% of those employers’ H-1B petitions would have been subject to the charge.
Congress established the fee in 2015, and DHS said the statutory language included petitions seeking extensions of status. The department acknowledged that it had previously tied collection of the fee too closely to circumstances in which the separate fraud-prevention fee applied.
Revenue from the fee helps support the federal biometric entry-exit system used to verify the identities of foreign nationals entering and leaving the United States. The system includes facial-comparison and other biometric technology at U.S. air, land and sea ports of entry.
DHS said collections under the program declined from $158 million in fiscal 2016 to $25.6 million in fiscal 2025 and argued that broader collection of the fee is needed to help maintain the country’s biometric entry-exit infrastructure. (Source: IANS)
