Adjustments To U.S. Citizenship And Immigration Services Filing Fees And 2024 H-1B Work Visa Lottery Registration Update

ADJUSTMENTS TO U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES FILING FEES

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it will adjust certain visa and U.S. Permanent Residence/Green Card-related fees effective April 1, 2024.

The complete new fee schedule table is available here. Please note some significant increases:

Work Visas

• The regular processing fee for an H-1B visa application is increasing from $460.00 to $780.00 for employers with 26 or more full-time employees. With the inclusion of the required Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee of $500.00, the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act (ACWIA) Fee of $1,500.00, and the new Asylum Program Fee of $600.00, this means that the total USCIS filing fees for a new H-1B visa application, and a transfer of an H-1B visa, will be $3,380.00 if the petitioning employer has 26 or more full-time employees.
• The regular processing fee for an H-1B visa application is NOT increasing for "small" petitioning employers (employers with 25 or fewer full-time employees). The regular processing fee will remain $460.00 for these types of petitioning employers. With the inclusion of the required Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee of $500.00, the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act (ACWIA) Fee of $750.00 for "small" petitioning employers, and the new Asylum Program Fee of $300.00 for "small" petitioning employers, this means that the total USCIS filing fees for a new H-1B visa application, and a transfer of an H-1B visa, will be $2,010.00** if the petitioning employer has 25 or fewer full-time employees.
• The regular processing fee for an L-1 visa application is increasing from $460.00 to $1,385.00 for employers with 26 or more full-time employees. With the inclusion of the required Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee of $500.00 and the new Asylum Program Fee of $600.00, this means that the total USCIS filing fees for a new L-1 visa application will be $2,485.00 if the petitioning employer has 26 or more full-time employees.
• The regular processing fee for an L-1 visa application is increasing from $460.00 to $695.00 for "small" petitioning employers (employers with 25 or fewer full-time employees). With the inclusion of the required Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee of $500.00 and the new Asylum Program Fee of $300.00 for "small" petitioning employers, this means that the total USCIS filing fees for a new L-1 visa application will be $1,495.00** if the petitioning employer has 25 or fewer full-time employees.
• The regular processing fee for an O-1 visa application is increasing from $460.00 to $1,055.00 for employers with 26 or more full-time employees. With the inclusion of the new Asylum Program Fee of $600.00, this means the total USCIS filing fees for a new O-1 visa application will be $1,655.00 for employers with 26 or more full-time employees.
• The regular processing fee for an O-1 visa application is increasing from $460.00 to $530.00 for "small" petitioning employers (employers with 25 or fewer full-time employees). With the inclusion of the new Asylum Program Fee of $300.00 for "small" petitioning employers, this means the total USCIS filing fees for a new O-1 visa application will be $830.00** for "small" petitioning employers.

** Please note there are fee exceptions applicable to nonprofit petitioning employers as well.

U.S. Permanent Resident/Green Card:

• The regular processing fee for an I-140 application for U.S. Permanent Residence/Green Card classifications is increasing from $700.00 to $715.00. Petitioning employers submitting an I-140 application will also have to pay the new Asylum Program Fee of $600.00 if they employ 26 or more employees; or $300.00 if they employ 25 or fewer employees. Nonprofit petitioning employers will not be required to pay the new Asylum Program Fee.
• The regular processing fee for an I-485 application for U.S. Permanent Residence/Green Card issuance is increasing from $1,225.00 to $1,440.00.

2024 H-1B WORK VISA LOTTERY REGISTRATION UPDATE

USCIS has announced that the registration period for all new H-1B work visas will open on March 6, 2024 and run through March 22, 2024. Employers planning to apply for H-1B work visas on behalf of foreign-born employees must register the employee(s) with USCIS during this period for inclusion in the H-1B work visa CAP. The CAP is the annual quota on new H-1B work visas. The regular CAP is set at 65,000; with an additional 20,000 reserved for U.S. advanced degree holders (i.e. the "Master's CAP"). Because demand almost always exceeds the quota limitations, USCIS conducts a random-selection lottery to determine which employers can proceed in filing a full application with USCIS during the filing period of April 1, 2024 – June 30, 2024. The employee must be registered during March 6, 2024 – March 22, 2024 to be entered into the lottery.

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