Immigration Attorney
Services & Fees

December 8, 2004

President Bush today signed the Omnibus Appropriations Bill (H.R. 4818) that contains a number of provisions affecting the H-1B and L-1 nonimmigrant categories. Please click here for the USCIS Press Release.

The Consolidated Approprations Act of 2005 was enacted on December 8, 2004. The Act changed the ACWIA fee determined on Form I-129W. The fee is now $1,500 in most cases. If you are an employer with no more than 25 Full-Time Employees as defined on the Form I-129W, the fee is $750.

This fee is not yet reflected on the paper Form I-129W, however, employers are responsible for submitting the correct fee.

New H-1B Fees - Effective Immediately:

The following are the fees per H-1B petition:


$185 for I-129 USCIS Fee.

$1,500 for H-1B "Education and Training Fee" for each H-1B petition filed for a new employer, change of employer, and first extension for an existing employer.


Employers with fewer than 25 full time employees (including U.S. affiliates and subsidiaries) will pay a lower $750 fee.

The following employers are exempt from the "Education and Training Fee":

1. Institutions of higher education and related or affiliated non-profit organizations;
2. Non-profit and governmental research organizations;
3. Any employer who is filing for a second extension of stay for an H-1B nonimmigrant;
4. Primary or secondary education institutions; and
5. Nonprofit entities which are engaged in "established curriculum-related clinical training of students".


H-1B Dependency and Attestations


This provision makes permanent the provision requiring non-displacement attestations on Labor Condition Applications filed by employers who are H-1B dependent (generally, those whose full time equivalent workforce comprises 15% or more H-1B workers) or have committed an immigration-related willful failure or misrepresentation during the preceding 5 years.

Allows the Department of Labor to self-start H-1B investigations without receiving a formal complaint, based only on "reasonable cause to believe" an employer has violated the H-1B rules (effective 90 days after enactment).

Excuses employers who act in good faith from minor technical violations of the H-1B compliance rules, such as incorrect prevailing wage determinations. Employers will have a 10-day period to correct technical deficiencies.


Requires H-1B employers to pay 100% of prevailing wage. Introduces 4-tier DOL wage survey


This provision requires employers of H-1B aliens to pay 100% (rather than 95%) of the prevailing wage. If the DOL uses a governmental survey in computing the prevailing wage, the survey shall comprise four tiers of wages, rather than the two-tier system currently used by the OES.


H-1B Changes - Effective March 8, 2005:


Exempts aliens with Master’s or higher degrees from U.S. schools from 65,000 H-1B Cap.

H-1B petitions filed for foreign nationals who hold Master’s or higher degrees from U.S. universities will not be counted against the annual 65,000 H-1B cap, up to a limit of 20,000 per year.

New filings under this provision for the current fiscal year (ending September 30, 2005) should be permitted, and the USCIS should clarify in the near future the manner in which such filings may be made and accepted.

$500 for Anti-Fraud Fee. Initial or change of status petitions for H-1B workers will have to include a $500 fee to be used to combat and detect fraud. This $500 fee will not be required for same-employer extensions.

We will provide more information as soon as it becomes available.