NEW H-1B FILING FEES ARE IN EFFECT

Pursuant to Public Law 111-230, certain H-1B visa petitions now require payment of additional $2,000 in filing fees. These additional fees are applicable to petitioning employers who employ 50 or more employees in the United States and 50% of the petitioner’s employees are in H-1B, L-1A or L-1B status. These fees are required to be filed only for initial filings for a new beneficiary.
Until the Form I-129 petition for nonimmigrant worker is revised, USCIS recommends that all H-1B petitioners include, as part of the filing packet, the new fee or a statement or other evidence outlining why this new fee does not apply. USCIS requests that petitioners include a notation indicating whether or not the fee is required in bold capital letters at the top of the cover letter. The fee, statement, notation, or other evidence should be provided with each petition submitted. Where the fee or documentation is not submitted with the filing, or where questions remain, USCIS may issue a Request for Evidence to determine whether the additional fee applies to the petition.
The following is a sample statement that the petitioner could use:
"By this statement we confirm that our company (the petitioner) is not required to
pay the H-1B filing fee under Public Law 111-230. Our business does not have
more than 50 percent of our employees in the United States in H-1B or L-1
nonimmigrant visa status. Therefore, we are not required to pay the additional
filing fee."