A U.S. work visa generally costs between about $2,000 and $12,000 once all mandatory government fees, attorney charges, and supporting document costs are counted. For the most common category, the H-1B, a large employer using premium processing pays at least $6,345 in government fees alone before any lawyer is involved. Smaller employers and qualifying nonprofits pay less. High-volume H-1B and L-1 users pay considerably more. The final number depends on the visa category, the size of the sponsoring employer, whether faster processing is requested, and a handful of costs that travel with almost every case.
The Core Government Fees for an H-1B
Nearly every temporary work visa begins with Form I-129, the petition a U.S. employer files with USCIS on behalf of the foreign worker.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker The same form covers H-1B specialty occupation workers, L-1 intracompany transferees, O-1 workers with extraordinary ability, and several other categories. The base filing fee depends on employer size:
- Large employers with more than 25 full-time equivalent employees: $780 on paper, or $730 online.
- Small employers with 25 or fewer FTEs: $460.
- Qualifying nonprofit organizations: $460.
These amounts come from the USCIS fee schedule, Form G-1055.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055, Fee Schedule Submitting the wrong amount causes USCIS to reject the entire package, which can set a start date back by weeks.
H-1B petitions subject to the annual cap add one step before the I-129 is even filed. Employers submit an electronic registration during a window in early March and pay $215 per worker.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. FY 2027 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period Opens on March 4 Only registrants selected in the lottery move on to the full petition, and the $215 is nonrefundable either way.
On top of the base fee, federal law layers on three supplemental charges for most H-1B cases:
- ACWIA training fee: $1,500 for employers with more than 25 FTEs, $750 for smaller employers. Colleges and universities, nonprofit research organizations, government research organizations, and nonprofits affiliated with educational institutions are exempt by statute.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1184 – Admission of Nonimmigrants
- Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee: a flat $500 on initial H-1B and L-1 petitions and on change-of-employer petitions. Extensions with the same employer do not trigger it.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H and L Filing Fees for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
- Asylum Program Fee: $600 for large employers, $300 for small employers, and $0 for qualifying nonprofits, added by the 2024 USCIS fee rule.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Reminds Certain Employment-Based Petitioners to Submit the Correct Required Fees
The old standalone biometrics charge for employment-based filings was folded into the base filing fees under the same 2024 rule, so there is no separate biometrics line for most of these cases.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 2024 Final Fee Rule
The 50/50 Surcharge for Heavy H-1B and L-1 Users
Employers that rely heavily on H-1B and L-1 workers face an additional fee under Public Law 114-113. If the employer has 50 or more U.S. employees and more than half of them hold H-1B or L-1 status, the surcharge is $4,000 per H-1B petition and $4,500 per L-1 petition.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Fee Increase for Certain H-1B and L-1 Petitions
It applies only to initial petitions and change-of-employer filings. Extensions with the same employer and amended petitions do not trigger it. USCIS counts full-time and part-time U.S. employees toward the 50-percent threshold, and employees of related entities are not counted. The provision remains in effect until September 30, 2027. For large IT staffing and outsourcing firms that regularly meet the threshold, this line alone can push a single H-1B above $7,000 in government fees.
Paying for a Faster Answer
Standard USCIS processing can take months, sometimes past six months for H-1B cases. Employers who need a decision sooner file Form I-907 for premium processing, which guarantees an initial response within 15 business days. That response can be an approval, a denial, or a request for evidence; premium processing speeds up the timeline, not the outcome.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How Do I Request Premium Processing
Effective March 1, 2026, the premium processing fee for most I-129 classifications, including H-1B, L-1, and O-1, is $2,965. A lower fee of $1,780 applies to H-2B and R-1 petitions.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Increase Premium Processing Fees Premium processing is optional in principle. In practice, most employers pay it because the alternative is waiting without a guaranteed timeline.
Consular Fees After Approval
Once USCIS approves the petition, a worker abroad still has to attend a visa interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate. The visa application fee for the petition-based work categories (H, L, O, P, Q, and R) is $205, nonrefundable whether the officer grants or denies the visa.11U.S. Department of State. Fees for Visa Services
Some applicants also owe a reciprocity fee based on their nationality. These charges mirror what the applicant’s home country charges American citizens for equivalent visa services and vary widely. The State Department publishes a lookup table by country.12U.S. Department of State. Fees and Reciprocity Tables For some nationalities the reciprocity fee is zero. For others it can add several hundred dollars.
Which Fees the Employer Must Pay
H-1B costs differ sharply from most other immigration categories in one respect: federal law prohibits the employer from passing certain fees to the worker, either directly or through payroll deductions. Under Department of Labor rules, the worker can never be required to pay:
- The ACWIA training fee ($750 or $1,500).
- The fraud prevention and detection fee ($500).
- Attorney fees related to preparing the Labor Condition Application or the I-129 petition.
- The premium processing fee, if the employer chose to file it.
Deductions that would drop an H-1B worker’s pay below the required wage rate are also prohibited, including costs for tools, equipment, and business travel.13U.S. Department of Labor. What Are the Rules Concerning Deductions From an H-1B Workers Pay Employers that push these costs onto workers risk back-pay liability, civil penalties, and bars from future sponsorship. The $205 consular visa fee and any reciprocity fee, by contrast, are typically the worker’s responsibility since they are paid directly to the State Department abroad.
Costs Beyond the Government Fees
Government charges are only part of the bill. Two other expenses show up in nearly every case.
Immigration Attorney Fees
Most employers hire an immigration attorney to prepare the petition. Fees generally run from $2,000 to $5,000 per case, depending on visa category and complexity. H-1B cases raising specialty occupation questions or a serious risk of a request for evidence tend to sit at the higher end; straightforward L-1 transfers tend to be cheaper. On H-1B cases, these attorney fees cannot be charged to the worker when they relate to the LCA or I-129 filing.
Credential Evaluations and Translations
H-1B petitions require proof that the worker holds at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. When the degree was earned outside the United States, an independent credential evaluation is needed, typically $100 to $300. Any foreign-language document submitted to USCIS must include a certified English translation.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7 – Part A – Chapter 4 Professional translators generally charge $20 to $50 per page, and a full transcript plus diploma can run several pages.
What a Single H-1B Actually Costs
Putting the mandatory pieces together for an initial H-1B filed with premium processing:
- Large employer, more than 25 FTEs: $780 (I-129) + $1,500 (ACWIA) + $500 (fraud) + $600 (asylum) + $2,965 (premium processing) = $6,345 in government fees, plus $215 registration if the case is cap-subject.
- Small employer, 25 or fewer FTEs: $460 (I-129) + $750 (ACWIA) + $500 (fraud) + $300 (asylum) + $2,965 (premium processing) = $4,975 in government fees, plus $215 registration if cap-subject.
Add $2,000 to $5,000 in attorney fees, a few hundred dollars for credential evaluations and translations, and the $205 consular fee, and the total for a single H-1B hire typically lands between $7,000 and $12,000. Employers hit by the 50/50 surcharge should add $4,000 on top of that. Dependent family members are a separate line item; they file their own applications and pay their own consular fees. Fees also shift on their own schedule, as the March 2026 premium processing increase shows, so confirming the current amounts on the USCIS fee schedule before filing is worth the few minutes it takes.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055, Fee Schedule