US employers face $4,000 and $4,500 H-1B L-1 extension fees
Heads up if you are working in the US on an H-1B or L-1 visa: Starting September 9, new extension fees are coming.
Employers with 50 or more employees in the US where more than half are on these visas will now pay $4,000 for each H-1B extension and $4,500 for each L-1 extension.
This change especially impacts big Indian IT and consulting firms that rely on these workers.
Extensions-only fees could hit Indian IT
These new fees only apply when extending a current employee's visa, not for new hires or transfers. Amended petitions that do not seek an extension of status will remain exempt.
The Department of Homeland Security expects to collect $157.3 million a year from this move, which will help fund border security technology.
For Indian IT companies managing thousands of employees in the US what used to be an occasional cost is now a regular (and bigger) expense, so it could hit their bottom line going forward.