Biden admin likely to hike H-1B visa fees
1 min read 04 Jan 2023, 10:19 PM ISTA hike in these employment visas which are borne by the US employer and will thus increase the cost of hiring of employees.
PremiumThe Joe Biden administration has proposed to hike the employment-based visas such as H-1B and also L visas. The fee for such visas are generally borne by the employer.
A hike in these employment visas which are borne by the US employer and will thus increase the cost of hiring of employees. Those seeking investment-linked green cards will now have to pay $11,160 for initial application. This is a rise of 204 per cent.
As it is in the middle stage, there is going to be a 60-day period for inviting public comments. It will take few months to be implemented.
According to a report by TOI, early 96% of the funding is derived by USCIS from such filing fees.
The primary fee for an H-1B visa would jump to $1,595 from $470. The visa, which allows immigrants with college degrees to live and work in the U.S. for as long as six years before becoming permanent residents.
The fee for an L-1 visa, which allows companies to transfer executives from offices abroad to the U.S., would rise to $1,985 from $460.
The agency, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, released its fee-increase proposals for a 60-day comment period.
The cost of applying for citizenship, for example, will rise to $760 from $725, according to report.
According to report the H-1B cap applications are then required to be filed only for those beneficiaries selected in the lottery process. The E-registration fee at a mere $ 10 led to some malpractices, it is now proposed to be hiked by 2050% to $215. At the second stage, the filing fee for H-1B applications, is proposed to increase to $780 from $460 – a 70% increase.
