WASHINGTON - Reports published Aug. 10 say the United States’ Department of Homeland Security has finalized an H-1B and L-1 fee expansion scheduled to take effect Sept. 9.
According to the Aug. 10 reports, the final rule will extend the 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee to qualifying extension-of-stay petitions, including cases in which an H-1B or L-1 worker remains with the same employer.
That means employers already subject to the surcharge could have to pay it again when extending the status of existing sponsored workers.
The fee amounts themselves are not increasing. Qualifying H-1B petitions carry an additional $4,000 charge, while qualifying L-1 petitions carry $4,500. The higher sponsorship cost comes from applying those existing surcharges to more extension filings, potentially turning them into a recurring expense for employers with large sponsored workforces.
Under current federal regulations, the charges apply to certain petitioners with at least 50 employees in the United States when more than half of their U.S. workforce holds H-1B, L-1A or L-1B status. Employers below those thresholds are not subject to the additional fee.
Reports on the Aug. 10 change say petitions already pending before implementation will not be charged retroactively, while amended petitions that do not request an extension of stay will remain outside the expanded treatment. The surcharge is paid by the petitioning employer rather than directly by the worker.
The higher recurring costs have particular relevance to Asia-Pacific talent flows. A Congressional Research Service review, using USCIS data, found that workers born in India accounted for 72% of approved H-1B petitions in fiscal 2023, while workers born in China accounted for another 12%.
APAC's presence also extends to the L visa channel used for intra-company transfers. State Department data show 39,729 L-category visas issued to Indian nationals in fiscal 2024, compared with 10,282 for mainland China, 7,041 for Japan and 6,624 for South Korea. Those figures include L-2 dependants and are not a count of fee-liable L-1 petitions.
DHS originally proposed the wider fee treatment on June 6, 2024. Current regulations schedule collection of the $4,000 and $4,500 surcharges through Sept. 30, 2027.
The department's regulatory agenda describes the intended reach directly: “the 9-11 Response Fees will apply to all H-1B and L-1 extension petitions.”
