H-1B Visa Fees: What Employers and Workers Pay in 2026

H-1B visa fees are split between the employer and the worker, and the split is not negotiable. Employers cover all USCIS petition fees. Workers carry a separate set of costs tied to their own visa application. The two don't overlap, and federal law makes clear that employers can't shift their side of the bill to the worker.

The total H-1B visa fees employers pay range from $960 for qualifying nonprofits to over $100,000 for companies hiring workers from abroad, per the USCIS fee schedule. The worker’s costs are smaller and mostly tied to the consular interview process.

H-1B visa fees at a glance

Every H-1B petition involves a combination of USCIS fees. Some apply to every petition. Others only kick in for new hires, transfers, or companies above a certain size.

Fees change. Verify current amounts at the USCIS fee schedule before filing.

What employers pay

Employers are responsible for all USCIS H-1B visa fees tied to the petition. Which fees apply and how much they add up to depends on company size and petition type.

I-129 filing fee

The Form I-129 base filing fee is the foundation of every petition. Regular employers pay $780 on paper or $730 online, per the USCIS fee schedule. Small employers with 25 or fewer full-time employees and qualifying nonprofits pay $460 either way.

ACWIA, fraud prevention, and asylum program fees

The American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act (ACWIA) training fee, fraud prevention fee, and asylum program fee are all listed on the USCIS fee schedule. ACWIA is $1,500 for 26+ employees, $750 for smaller ones. The fraud prevention fee is $500 on initial petitions and transfers. See the fee table above for the full breakdown by employer type.

The fraud prevention fee applies only to new petitions and transfers, not extensions. The asylum program fee scales by employer size and is waived entirely for qualifying nonprofits.

Companies classified as H-1B dependent, meaning H-1B workers make up a significant share of total U.S. headcount, owe an additional surcharge under PL 114-113 on new petitions and transfers.

Premium processing

Premium processing costs $2,965 and guarantees a USCIS response within 15 business days. It's added by filing Form I-907 alongside or after the I-129. The response can be an approval, a denial, or a Request for Evidence (RFE). An RFE resets the 15-day clock.

It's optional, but worth using when there's a firm start date or when standard processing would push past the worker's I-94 expiration. If USCIS misses the 15-business-day window, it refunds the fee.

Total fees by employer type

The table below shows total required USCIS fees by employer type. The registration fee paid at the lottery stage is excluded, as is optional premium processing.

The $100,000 presidential proclamation fee

The $100,000 Proclamation fee took effect September 21, 2025, per the USCIS H-1B FAQ. Employers pay through pay.gov before filing. It applies to new H-1B petitions for workers outside the U.S. without valid H-1B status.

Workers already in the U.S. are generally exempt. The fee doesn't apply to:

• F-1 students in the U.S. changing status to H-1B
• Current H-1B holders getting an extension with the same employer
• H-1B holders already in the U.S. transferring to a new employer

The fee has a built-in expiration date and may be renewed. Confirm it's still in effect at the USCIS H-1B FAQ before filing.

What workers pay

Workers don't pay any USCIS petition fees. Those all sit with the employer. The costs workers carry are tied to the visa stamping process itself:

• DS-160 visa application fee: $205, paid to the State Department when applying for the visa stamp at a consulate
• Reciprocity fee: Varies by nationality, charged at the consulate
• Travel and accommodation: For attending the consular interview abroad

Premium processing is the exception. A worker can choose to pay the $2,965 fee when the faster processing serves their needs more than the employer's, such as confirming a start date quickly or resolving uncertainty about travel.

How to evaluate an employer's sponsorship track record

The fee structure means that employers who have sponsored H-1B workers before have already worked through this cost. They've budgeted for it, filed the paperwork, and know what the process looks like. That's a meaningfully different situation than an employer who has never sponsored and is seeing the total for the first time.

For workers, that distinction matters as much as the job itself. An employer who balks at fees, asks you to cover costs they're legally required to absorb, or can't answer basic questions about the petition process is telling you something about how the sponsorship will go.

LCA and DOL filing data at the DOL FLAG portal, the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG), shows which employers have sponsored consistently, at what wage levels, and in which roles. Migrate Mate indexes that data so you can filter for H-1B sponsoring employers before you’re already counting on one to come through.

Frequently asked questions