Increased H-1B Visa Fees Prooves That Labor is Expensive

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"The House Reconciliation Bill, which is expected to be voted on soon, will make filing an H-1B petition even more expensive. The most common misconception about the immigration of highly skilled foreign workers is that they add no value to the American economy except offering cheap labor."

Written by My Visa Source Team
Published on: Nov 22, 2021

The House Reconciliation Bill, which is expected to be voted on soon, will make filing an H-1B petition even more expensive. The most common misconception about the immigration of highly skilled foreign workers is that they add no value to the American economy except offering cheap labor. This misconception persists even though the key people behind discovering a vaccine for the Covid-19 virus are former international students, that is, H-1B Visa holders.

For most international students, the H-1B Visa is an important pathway to building their lives in the US. It is the first step in their immigration journey. The House Reconciliation Bill, if passed, will make it more expensive for employers to file petitions for such dreamers. The most recent version of the bill will add a supplemental fee of $500 to the existing fee for H-1B Visa petitions. This is among the many other fee increases included in the bill passed by the House Judiciary Committee in September 2021.

What US Visa Fees Have Been Increased by the House Reconciliation Bill?

Visa processing fees for the following visa programs have been increased in the House Reconciliation Bill:

Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative (for certain family-based immigrant petitions): $100
Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (for all employment-based visa petitions): $800
Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur (for EB-5 Visa petitions): $15,000
Form I-94/I-94W, Arrival/Departure Forms: $19
F-1 Student Visa and the M-1 Student Visa, and J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa: $250
Replace an expired or expiring Green Card: $500
Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker (E, H-1B, L, O Visas, or P Visas status): $500
Form I-539, Application To Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status: $50
Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization: $500
An Approved Nonimmigrant Visa: $75

How Will the Increased Fee Affect H-1B Visa Holders?

According to an analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), employers will have to spend as much as $31,800 to complete the initial filing process of an H-1B Visa petition and an extension for additional 3 years. The initial filing process would include the following steps:

Application fee: $460
New supplemental fee: $500
Attorney fee: Between $1,500- $4,000
Additional legal fees: Between $2,000 to $4,500, if there is a Request for Evidence
Scholarship and training fee: $750-$1,500
Anti-fraud fee: $500
Premium processing fee: $2,500
Additional fee for employers who have a higher proportion of H-1B Visa workers in their workforce: $4,000
Visa fee: $190

How Will the US Employers Be Affected?

US employers already face uncertainty when petitioning for H-1B Visa workers. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offer a total of 85,000 H-1B Visas every year. In 2021, the USCIS received around 308,000 petitions for the H-1B Visas. Around 72% of these petitions were rejected before they could be evaluated due to the low annual limit. Even if US employers are successful in petitioning and hiring an H-1B Visa worker, there is no guarantee that the worker will receive US permanent residence to continue working in the US.

This means that they’ll have to start the process all over again. This process is about to become even more expensive if the House Reconciliation Bill is passed and becomes a law. Employers will be forced to pay additional fees to hire highly skilled foreign workers and international students as the H-1B Visa is the only way for them to work long-term in the US.