The filing fee for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, starts at $460 and reaches $1,385 as a base cost, depending on the visa classification, whether the petitioner is a large employer, a small employer, or a qualifying nonprofit. Mandatory surcharges for asylum funding, workforce training, and fraud prevention stack on top, and a single H-1B petition filed by a large company routinely runs past $3,000 before anyone hires a lawyer.
Base Fees by Visa Classification
The fee schedule in 8 CFR 106.2 charges larger employers more than smaller ones. A large employer has more than 25 full-time equivalent employees. A small employer has 25 or fewer. Nonprofits with IRS 501(c)(3) status pay the same reduced rate as small employers across every classification.1eCFR. 8 CFR 106.2 – Fees
- H-1B and H-1B1 (specialty occupation): $780 large, $460 small or nonprofit.
- L-1A and L-1B (intracompany transferee): $1,385 large, $695 small or nonprofit.
- O-1 and O-2 (extraordinary ability, 1–25 named beneficiaries): $1,055 large, $530 small or nonprofit.
- E-1, E-2, E-3, H-3, P, Q, R-1, and TN (1–25 named beneficiaries): $1,015 large, $510 small or nonprofit.
Seasonal and temporary agricultural and non-agricultural petitions have their own structure that turns on whether beneficiaries are named:
- H-2A named beneficiaries: $1,090 large, $545 small or nonprofit. Unnamed only: $530 large, $460 small or nonprofit.
- H-2B named beneficiaries: $1,080 large, $540 small or nonprofit. Unnamed only: $580 large, $460 small or nonprofit.
No fee waivers are available for Form I-129.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H and L Filing Fees for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
Surcharges That Stack on Top
The base fee is the starting line. Most petitions trigger one or more of the following surcharges, each with its own rules.
Asylum Program Fee
Every I-129 petition, whatever the classification, carries an Asylum Program Fee: $600 for large employers, $300 for small employers, and $0 for qualifying nonprofits.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H and L Filing Fees for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
ACWIA Training Fee (H-1B Only)
H-1B petitions pick up an American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act fee that funds domestic worker training. Employers with 1 to 25 full-time employees pay $750. Employers with 26 or more pay $1,500. The fee applies to initial H-1B petitions, changes of employer, changes of status to H-1B, and the first extension of stay filed by the same employer for the same worker. It does not apply to amending petitions that don’t extend the worker’s stay, or to second and later extensions with the same employer.
Several employer types are fully exempt from ACWIA: institutions of higher education, nonprofits affiliated with higher education institutions, nonprofit and government research organizations, primary and secondary schools, and nonprofits running established curriculum-related clinical training programs for students. If your organization fits one of those categories, this line item is $0 regardless of headcount.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H and L Filing Fees for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee (H-1B and L-1 Only)
A flat $500 Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee applies to H-1B and L-1 petitions when the filing is for an initial grant of the classification, a change of status into H-1B or L-1, or a change of employer. A worker moving from H-1B to L-1 with the same employer still owes the $500, because USCIS treats the L-1 as an initial grant.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 2, Part L, Chapter 7 – Filing
Public Law 114-113 Surcharge
Employers with 50 or more U.S. employees, where more than half are in H-1B, L-1A, or L-1B status, owe an additional $4,000 on H-1B filings and $4,500 on L-1 filings. The surcharge is required whenever the Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee is required, so it hits initial petitions and employer-change filings but not straight extensions with the same employer. For companies that meet the threshold, a single H-1B can run $7,000 or more in government fees.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Fee Increase for Certain H-1B and L-1 Petitions (Public Law 114-113)
What Common Petitions Actually Cost
Stacking the components produces a real price tag. Two frequent H-1B scenarios:
- Large employer, initial H-1B: $780 base + $600 asylum + $1,500 ACWIA + $500 fraud = $3,380.
- Small employer, initial H-1B: $460 base + $300 asylum + $750 ACWIA + $500 fraud = $2,010.
An ACWIA-exempt university filing the same H-1B pays $460 base, $0 asylum (as a nonprofit), $0 ACWIA, and $500 fraud, for $960 total. A large employer filing an initial L-1 pays $1,385 + $600 + $500 = $2,485, and if the Public Law 114-113 surcharge applies, that becomes $6,985.
Premium Processing
If you need a faster decision, USCIS offers premium processing through Form I-907 for most I-129 classifications, guaranteeing an initial action within 15 business days. That action can be an approval, a denial, a request for evidence, or a notice of intent to deny. Effective March 1, 2026, the premium processing fee for most I-129 classifications is $2,965. H-2B and R-1 petitions have a lower premium processing fee of $1,780.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Increase Premium Processing Fees
Premium processing is available for E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-2B, H-3, L-1A, L-1B, blanket L, O-1, O-2, all P classifications, Q-1, R-1, TN-1, and TN-2 filings. H-2A petitions are not on the list. Filing Form I-907 gives no advantage in the H-1B cap lottery or any other numerical-limit process. The premium fee sits on top of every other fee, so a large-employer H-1B with premium processing runs well over $6,000 in government fees.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How Do I Request Premium Processing
Dependents File Separately
The I-129 fee covers only the worker. Spouses and children who need to extend or change to the matching dependent classification (H-4, L-2, O-3, and so on) file Form I-539. The current I-539 fee is $420 online and $470 by mail, with no separate biometrics fee. A spouse and two children needing status changes add $1,260 to $1,410 depending on filing method.
How to Pay, and How Payments Fail
USCIS no longer accepts personal checks, business checks, money orders, or cashier’s checks for paper-filed forms unless you qualify for a specific exemption. Paper filers have two options: pay by credit, debit, or prepaid card using Form G-1450, or pay directly from a U.S. bank account using Form G-1650.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Filing Fees
Payment failure is where petitions come apart. If a credit card is declined, USCIS does not retry the transaction and rejects the entire filing. If an ACH payment fails for insufficient funds, USCIS retries once. If the second attempt fails, the filing is rejected or denied. Miscalculating the fee by even a few dollars produces the same result: immediate rejection. Confirm every fee component before you submit, because a rejected petition means starting over and losing whatever processing time you had banked.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1, Part B, Chapter 3 – Fees