Updated November 11, 2026

H-1B visa application fee: every filing fee, who pays, and how to submit payment

There is no single H-1B visa application fee. Instead, USCIS charges a combination of lottery registration, base Form I-129, ACWIA training, fraud prevention, and asylum program fees that vary by employer size, nonprofit status, and whether the petition is a new cap filing, a transfer, or an extension. Every amount appears in our single fee table below, sourced from the USCIS fee schedule and federal regulations.

Complete H-1B visa fee schedule

USCIS removed fee amounts from individual form instructions and consolidated them into Form G-1055, the agency's fee schedule, alongside Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Because an H-1B petition combines several statutory and regulatory charges, your total depends on how many full-time equivalent employees the sponsoring organization has in the United States, whether it qualifies as a nonprofit, and which action Form I-129 requests.

The table below lists every USCIS fee that applies to H-1B cap registration, Form I-129 petitions, and accompanying H-4 dependent applications. By our calculation from the eCFR Title 8 fee schedule in the table below, qualifying small employers receive a 50 percent reduction on both the Asylum Program Fee and the ACWIA training fee compared to standard employers.

Fees from uscis.gov (Form G-1055) and ecfr.gov (8 CFR 106.2), as of November 2026

H-1B electronic registration fee and lottery rules

Before an employer can file a cap-subject Form I-129 petition, including one for the 20,000 U.S. advanced degree exemption (the master's cap) or the 65,000 regular cap, the employer or its legal representative must electronically register each prospective beneficiary through a USCIS organizational online account and pay the registration fee shown in the table above. Each registration covers a single beneficiary and the fee is non-refundable, even if the employer later deletes a duplicate entry before the registration window closes.

Filing online does not reduce the H-1B registration fee. Under 8 CFR 106.2(c)(11), the standard reduction for online filing does not apply to cap registrations. For the FY 2027 cap season, the initial registration window opened at noon Eastern on March 4 and closed at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on March 19, 2026.

Your registration is only valid once the payment clears on Pay.gov. If an electronic check is returned by your bank or a credit or debit card transaction is later declined, disputed, or not reconciled, USCIS invalidates the registration. If the registration period has already closed when the payment fails, there is no way to submit a replacement registration, and USCIS may deny or revoke an H-1B petition if it later finds the underlying registration fee was invalid.

Form I-129 base fee, small employers, and nonprofits

Every H-1B petition requires Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, along with the H Classification Supplement and the H-1B Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement. USCIS sets two tiers for the Form I-129 base filing fee in the table above: one rate for standard employers and a lower rate for small employers and qualifying nonprofits.

Under the Form I-129 instructions and 8 CFR 106.1(f), you qualify for the small employer tier on both the Form I-129 base fee and the Asylum Program Fee if you have 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees in the United States, counting all affiliates and subsidiaries. To prove eligibility, the Form I-129 instructions list a copy of the petitioner's most recent IRS Form 941 (Employer's Quarterly Federal Return) or IRS Form 943.

You qualify as a nonprofit for the reduced Form I-129 base fee and a zero-dollar Asylum Program Fee if your organization is a not-for-profit primary or secondary educational institution, an institution of higher education as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, a tax-exempt organization under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3), or a governmental research organization under 8 CFR 214.2(h)(19)(iii)(C). Acceptable evidence includes an IRS Determination Letter or a currently valid IRS tax exemption certificate. Note that under the March 21, 2024 Federal Register correction to 8 CFR 106.2(a)(3)(xi), the standard reduction for filing online does not apply to small employers or nonprofits paying the reduced Form I-129 rate.

ACWIA, Fraud Prevention, Asylum Program, and 9-11 Biometric fees

Beyond the base Form I-129 charge, four statutory and program fees determine the total cost of an H-1B petition. Each has its own trigger rules and exemptions, which you report on the H-1B and H-1B1 Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement (beginning on page 21 of Form I-129).

• American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act (ACWIA) fee: This fee funds the training of U.S. workers. Employers with 26 or more full-time employees pay the standard ACWIA amount in the table above, while employers with 25 or fewer full-time employees pay half that amount. It is required on an initial H-1B petition, a change of status to H-1B, a change of H-1B employer, and the first extension of stay filed by the same employer for the same worker. It is not required on a second or subsequent extension with the same employer, or on an amended petition that does not request an extension of stay. Higher education institutions, affiliated nonprofits, nonprofit or governmental research organizations, primary or secondary schools, and nonprofits running clinical training programs are completely exempt.
• Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee: Required when an employer files initially to grant H-1B status or to obtain authorization for an H-1B worker to change employers. You do not pay it again on extensions or amendments with the same employer for the same classification, unless the worker has been outside the United States for more than one year and you are requesting a new initial grant of status. Chile and Singapore H-1B1 petitions are exempt from this fee.
• Asylum Program Fee: Required on every Form I-129 filing to help fund asylum processing. Standard employers pay the full rate in the table above, small employers with 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees pay half, and qualifying nonprofits pay nothing. The online filing reduction never applies to the Asylum Program Fee.
• 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee (Public Law 114-113): Applies to covered employers with 50 or more employees in the United States if more than 50 percent of their aggregate U.S. workforce holds H-1B, L-1A, or L-1B status. Under a Department of Homeland Security final rule effective September 9, 2026 (91 FR 51360), covered employers must pay this fee not only on initial grants and change-of-employer petitions, but also on all extension of stay petitions, even when staying with the same employer and when the Fraud Fee does not apply. Only amended petitions that do not seek an extension of stay and H-1B1 petitions are exempt. By statute, this fee applies to petitions filed on or before September 30, 2027.

Which fees apply by filing type: worked scenarios

Use these four worked scenarios from USCIS's H and L filing fee rules to match your exact petition type to the fee items in our table above.

• Scenario 1, New cap-subject H-1B petition: First, the employer pays the electronic registration fee in March. If selected, the Form I-129 package must include the Form I-129 base fee, the Asylum Program Fee (unless a nonprofit), the ACWIA training fee (unless an exempt educational or research institution), and the Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee. If the employer meets the 50-employee and 50-percent H-1B/L-1 threshold, the 9-11 Biometric Fee also applies.
• Scenario 2, Change of employer (H-1B transfer): No lottery registration fee applies when transferring an existing cap-counted H-1B worker. The new employer must pay the Form I-129 base fee, the Asylum Program Fee, the ACWIA training fee, and the Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee, plus the 9-11 Biometric Fee if the new employer is a covered 50/50 employer.
• Scenario 3, First vs. second extension with the same employer: On a first extension of stay with the same employer, the petitioner pays the Form I-129 base fee, the Asylum Program Fee, and the ACWIA training fee, but does not pay the Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee. On a second or subsequent extension with the same employer, both the Fraud Fee and the ACWIA fee drop off, leaving only the Form I-129 base fee and the Asylum Program Fee. However, if the employer is a covered 50/50 employer, the September 9, 2026 final rule requires the 9-11 Biometric Fee on both first and subsequent extensions.
• Scenario 4, Amended petition with no extension of stay: When an employer files an amended Form I-129 to report a material change (such as a new worksite) without asking for additional time beyond the current authorized stay, the ACWIA fee, the Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee, and the 9-11 Biometric Fee do not apply. The employer pays only the Form I-129 base fee and the applicable Asylum Program Fee.

Who pays H-1B fees and how to submit payment without rejection

As the petitioner, the U.S. employer is responsible for submitting all Form I-129 filing fees to the Department of Homeland Security, and there are no fee waivers available for Form I-129. In addition, the Form I-129 instructions explicitly state that the ACWIA training fee may not be assessed to the beneficiary. Dependent family members (spouses and unmarried children under 21) use Form I-539 to change or extend H-4 status and Form I-765 for H-4 spouse employment authorization, which can be packaged together with Form I-129 so USCIS adjudicates them together.

USCIS automatically rejects any H-1B petition submitted with an incorrect fee. Follow this payment checklist from the USCIS Fee Schedule and Fee Rule FAQ before you file:

• Separate payments for multiple forms and fee lines: Never combine fees for multiple forms (such as Form I-129, Form I-907, and Form I-539) into a single check, or USCIS may reject the entire package. When mailing a single form that requires multiple fees (like Form I-129 with ACWIA, Fraud, and Asylum fees), USCIS recommends submitting each related fee payment separately so the Lockbox has flexibility if a single fee issue arises.
• Do not mix payment methods in one package: All payments inside a mailed submission must use the same payment type (all checks, all money orders, or all credit card authorizations), because the USCIS Lockbox cannot process a filing that mixes payment types.
• Electronic and mail payment forms: Online filings are paid simultaneously through Pay.gov. When filing by mail, you can pay by credit, debit, or prepaid card using Form G-1450 (Authorization for Credit Card Transactions) or directly from a U.S. bank account via Automated Clearing House (ACH) using Form G-1650 (Authorization for ACH Transactions). If you qualify for an exemption from electronic payment to use a paper fee payment, you must include a signed Form G-1651. Cash is never accepted.
• Watch the daily credit card limits: For petitions sent by mail, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sets a standard daily limit per credit card. For H-1B registrations and petitions submitted online during the FY 2027 cap season, the Treasury Department approved an increased daily card limit. Online transactions above that threshold must be paid via ACH using a U.S. checking account with any bank ACH blocks removed in advance.
• Disputed or dishonored payments: USCIS does not redeposit checks dishonored for reasons other than insufficient funds, and fees paid by credit card are not subject to dispute, chargeback, or forced refund.

Premium processing and the vacated presidential payment

Employers or representatives who want faster adjudication can file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, either online or on paper alongside Form I-129. Under the USCIS fee rule, the premium processing timeframe is measured in business days rather than calendar days, and the online filing reduction does not apply to Form I-907. On January 9, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security announced a final rule adjusting premium processing fees for inflation from June 2023 through June 2025, effective for Form I-907 requests postmarked on or after March 1, 2026. If you submit Form I-907 with an outdated fee amount, USCIS will reject the Form I-907 and return its fee.

You may also see references to a Presidential Proclamation issued in September 2025 (Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers) that sought to require an additional payment on certain H-1B petitions. On June 8, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued an order vacating the agency guidance that implemented that payment requirement in State of California v. Mullin, 1:25-cv-13829 (D. Mass.). On July 24, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit denied the government's motion for a stay pending appeal. USCIS states on its Form G-1055 and Form I-129 pages that it is complying with the court's order and is not collecting that payment while the order remains in effect.

How USCIS adjusts fees and what to bring to your visa interview

Under 8 CFR 106.2(d), USCIS fees that are not fixed by statute may be adjusted no more than once per year by a rule published in the Federal Register, based on the CPI-U inflation measure published by the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics and rounded to the nearest five-dollar increment. Always verify your exact form edition and fee on USCIS Form G-1055 on the day you prepare your payment, because USCIS determines the required fee by the postmark date (or UTC submission date for online filings) rather than the date the package arrives.

Once USCIS approves the Form I-129 petition and issues Form I-797, Notice of Action, beneficiaries who are outside the United States or traveling abroad must apply for an H-1B visa stamp at a U.S. embassy or consulate before seeking admission. At the consular window, officers frequently verify that the job, salary, and worksite match the approved Form I-129 and Labor Condition Application, and that no prohibited fees were shifted to the worker.

Practice example

Did you pay any part of your H-1B petition fees or reimburse your employer for the filing costs?

State clearly and honestly that your petitioning employer paid all required USCIS petition and statutory fees, including the Form I-129 base fee, the ACWIA training fee, the Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee, and the Asylum Program Fee, without any deduction from your salary or reimbursement agreement. If you paid for your own consular visa stamping appointment or optional Form I-539 dependent applications for your family, explain that distinction briefly in one sentence. Have your Form I-797 approval notice, your certified Labor Condition Application (Form ETA-9035), and your employment offer letter or recent pay stubs organized in your folder so you can confirm your exact proffered wage and show that no employer filing costs were assessed to you.

The consular officer is checking that your employer complied with federal rules prohibiting the ACWIA fee and employer petition obligations from being shifted to the H-1B worker, and that you will actually receive the full wage attested on the Labor Condition Application.

This is interview practice, not legal advice. For questions about your own case, talk to an immigration attorney. Visaful is not affiliated with the U.S. government or the Department of State.