H-1B visa filing fees for an initial petition in 2026 come to $3,595 in mandatory government charges for a large employer and $2,225 for a small employer or nonprofit before any optional add-ons. Premium processing adds $2,965. Certain large H-1B-heavy companies owe an extra $4,000 surcharge. Attorney fees and consular costs sit on top of those numbers, and federal labor rules require the employer, not the worker, to pay almost all of it.
What a Full H-1B Petition Costs in 2026
The mandatory USCIS fees for a first-time H-1B petition stack up like this:
- Large employer, standard processing: $215 registration + $780 filing + $600 asylum + $1,500 ACWIA + $500 fraud = $3,595
- Large employer with premium processing: $6,560
- Small employer (25 or fewer full-time equivalents), standard processing: $215 + $460 + $300 + $750 + $500 = $2,225
- Small employer with premium processing: $5,190
- Exempt nonprofit, standard processing: $215 + $460 + $0 asylum + $0 ACWIA + $500 = $1,175
Companies subject to the Public Law 114-113 surcharge add another $4,000 on top of the large-employer totals. Once attorney fees, credential evaluations, and consular processing are included, a single sponsorship for a large employer with premium processing routinely clears $10,000.
Registration Fee
Every cap-subject H-1B case begins with an electronic lottery registration through myUSCIS. The employer pays a non-refundable $215 for each worker it enters.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Electronic Registration Process There is no small-employer or nonprofit discount, and USCIS keeps the money whether or not the registration is picked in the lottery.
Form I-129 Base Filing Fee
If USCIS selects the registration, the employer files Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker. The base fee depends on size:
- 26 or more full-time equivalent workers: $780 by paper, $730 online
- 25 or fewer full-time equivalent workers, and all nonprofits: $460
These amounts are set at 8 CFR 106.2.2eCFR. 8 CFR 106.2 – Fees The employer’s reported headcount on the petition has to match the fee tier paid, or USCIS will reject the filing outright.
Asylum Program Fee
This charge funds USCIS’s humanitarian caseload and is tacked onto the I-129:
- Large employers: $600
- Small employers: $300
- Nonprofits: exempt
USCIS uses the same 25-employee cutoff as the ACWIA training fee.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Fee Schedule Small Entity Compliance Guide Nonprofits need to mark their status on Form I-129 to claim the exemption.
ACWIA Training Fee
Enacted under the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act, this fee bankrolls scholarships and training for U.S. workers. It runs $750 for employers with 25 or fewer workers and $1,500 for employers with 26 or more.
Several categories of employer are fully exempt:4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H and L Filing Fees for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
- Higher education institutions defined under the Higher Education Act
- Nonprofits related to or affiliated with such institutions
- Nonprofit and governmental research organizations
- Primary and secondary schools
- Nonprofits running established curriculum-related clinical training programs
Everyone else pays it on initial petitions, change-of-employer petitions, and a same-employer worker’s first extension. Only the second and later extensions by the same employer skip it.
Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee
A flat $500 supports fraud investigations.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule It applies to initial H-1B petitions and to change-of-employer filings, but not to extensions with the same employer. There is no size or nonprofit exemption. The only statutory carve-out is for petitions filed under the H-1B1 program for Chilean and Singaporean workers.
Public Law 114-113 Surcharge
Certain large, H-1B-heavy employers owe an extra $4,000 per petition when all three conditions are met:6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Fee Increase for Certain H-1B and L-1 Petitions (Public Law 114-113)
- 50 or more employees in the United States (full-time and part-time both count)
- More than half of those U.S. employees hold H-1B, L-1A, or L-1B status
- The petition is for initial H-1B status or a change of employer
The surcharge is set to expire on September 30, 2027. Most employers never encounter it, but for companies that qualify, it pushes a single petition past $7,000 in government fees alone.
Premium Processing Fee
Premium processing is optional. For H-1B petitions, the fee is $2,965 as of March 1, 2026, up from $2,805.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Increase Premium Processing Fees Any Form I-907 postmarked on or after that date has to include the updated amount or it will be rejected.
Paying it guarantees USCIS will take action within 15 business days. Action can mean approval, denial, a request for evidence, a notice of intent to deny, or the opening of a fraud investigation, so the fee buys speed, not a better outcome. If USCIS misses the deadline entirely, it refunds the fee.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How Do I Request Premium Processing
Extensions and Employer Changes
Every extension or change of employer requires a new Form I-129, which means the base filing fee and Asylum Program Fee apply every time.
The variable pieces are the ACWIA training fee and the $500 fraud fee. On a same-employer extension, the ACWIA fee is due only on the first extension, and the fraud fee is not owed at all. When the worker moves to a new employer, both fees reset and apply as if it were a brand-new petition.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule
Fees for Spouses and Children (H-4)
An H-1B worker’s spouse and unmarried children under 21 can apply for H-4 status by filing Form I-539. The fee is $370, and family members requesting the same status change can share one Form I-539. USCIS dropped the separate $85 biometric fee for I-539 in October 2023.
Premium processing is not available for Form I-539, and adjudication can take months. Families entering the U.S. together often skip the I-539 route entirely and apply for H-4 visa stamps at the consulate alongside the principal worker’s H-1B stamp.
Consular Visa Stamp Fees
A worker outside the United States, or one who travels abroad after approval, needs an H-1B stamp in their passport. That involves a separate application at a U.S. embassy or consulate with its own charges.
The Machine Readable Visa fee for H-1B and other petition-based categories is $205.9U.S. Department of State. Fees for Visa Services Some nationalities also owe a reciprocity fee after the visa is approved, which varies by country from nothing to several hundred dollars.10U.S. Department of State. Visa Reciprocity and Civil Documents by Country These consular fees are among the few costs the worker can legally pay personally.
Who Legally Has to Pay Each Fee
Federal labor rules give the employer the tab for nearly everything tied to sponsoring the position. The sponsoring employer cannot require or allow the H-1B worker to pay any of these, through payroll deduction or otherwise:11U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 62H – What Are the Rules Concerning Deductions From an H-1B Workers Pay
- Costs of preparing and filing the Labor Condition Application
- Costs of preparing and filing the I-129 petition, including attorney fees and premium processing
- The ACWIA training fee
- The $500 Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee
Passing any of that to the worker, even indirectly through a reduced salary, can trigger wage violation findings and back-pay liability. The worker may voluntarily pay for consular visa stamps and personal expenses such as credential evaluations. The dividing line is between what it costs the employer to sponsor the job and what it costs the worker to get personal travel documents.
How to Pay USCIS
The payment mechanics changed at the end of 2025. As of October 28, 2025, USCIS no longer accepts checks, money orders, or cashier’s checks for paper filings.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Transition to Electronic Payments Policy Alert Employers filing on paper now pay by:
- Credit, debit, or prepaid card on Form G-1450, issued by a U.S. bank13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Authorization for Credit Card Transactions
- ACH bank transfer on Form G-1650 from a U.S. bank account
USCIS recommends a separate payment authorization for each fee. Bundling different fees on one form is a frequent cause of full-package rejection.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Reminds Certain Employment-Based Petitioners to Submit the Correct Required Fees
Attorney Fees and Other Costs
Government fees are only part of the bill. Immigration attorney fees for an H-1B typically run $2,500 to $7,500 depending on the position and the firm. A credential evaluation for a worker with a foreign degree usually costs $100 to $135, and certified translations of foreign-language documents add roughly $25 to $40 per page. None of these are set by the government, so they vary by provider. Under the labor rules above, the employer generally has to cover the attorney fees connected to the I-129.