DHS Expands $4,000 H-1B and $4,500 L-1 Fees to Visa Extensions

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will publish the final rule in the Federal Register on August 10, with the fee expansion taking effect 30 days later. The rule applies to employers with at least 50 U.S. employees, more than half of whom hold H-1B or L-1 visas.

Under the current system, these employers pay the 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit fee only for initial visa grants and change-of-employer petitions. The new rule extends the fee to all extension-of-stay petitions filed for existing H-1B and L-1 workers, regardless of whether the separate fraud prevention fee is required.

Immigration law firm Fragomen confirmed that amended petitions not requesting an extension of stay will remain exempt. Chugh LLP noted the rule does not raise the fee amount but broadens the situations in which it applies.

Congress originally created the fee in December 2015 to fund biometric entry-exit systems mandated for national security. The latest move marks the first time the fee will be charged for same-employer extensions, a change that could increase costs for staffing firms and other visa-dependent employers.