H1B and L-1 Visa Fees Increased

The bill to increase the H1B visa fees and L1 Visa fees has been passed by both US Senate and and US House of Representatives. President Obama signed it on Friday December 18th 2015. The fees has been hiked from $2000 to $4000 for H1B visa Petitions and for L1 Visa the fees has been hiked to $4500.

The money generated from this fees will go into the general treasury (50%) and the other 50 % will go into the 9-11 Response and Bio-metric Exit Account.

The Important Question - Who has to pay this fees and who will be affected by this ?

Not all employers who employ H1b and L1 visa workers have to pay this fees. For L1 visa petitions the fees applies to the companies that employ 50 or more employees in the US and if the 50% of those employees are L1 or H1b workers.

The proposed fees increase is valid for next 10 years i.e until September 30 2025.

Also Read: H1-B Visa Prediction 2017 

As expected this fees increased was not welcomed by Indian Outsourcing companies and Indian Government. They are not happy as there will be more financial burden on these companies now.

The new Fees breakdown is given below :

Type of Fees	Cost
Base Filing Fees	$325
Education and Training Fees	$750
Public Law fees ( Earlier - $2000 )	$4000 ( For H1 Visa)
Premium Processing Fees	$1,225
Anti Fraud Fees	$500

Your opinion does really matter. Let us know what do you think and do leave comment below.

Don't forget to like our facebook page for latest updates. Also follow us on Twitter.
You would also want to look at my article : H1-B Visa Prediction 2017