On Aug. 13, 2010, President Obama signed into law Public Law 111-230, which contains provisions to increase the fees associated with certain H-1B specialty occupation petitions and L-1 intracompany transferee petitions. Effective immediately, Public Law 111-230 requires the submission of an additional fee of $2,000 for certain H-1B petitions and $2,250 for certain L-1A and L-1B petitions postmarked on or after Aug. 14, 2010. The new fees will remain in effect through Sept. 30, 2014.
The additional fees ONLY apply to petitioners who employ 50 or more employees in the United States with more than 50 percent of its employees in the United States in H-1B or L (including L-1A, L-1B and L-2) nonimmigrant status. Consequently, the fees imposed by Public Law 111-230 will not apply to all companies petitioning for H-1B and L-1 workers. Petitioners subject to the new law must submit the new fee with an H-1B or L-1 petition filed initially to grant an alien nonimmigrant status, or to obtain authorization for such an alien to change employers.
All new H-1B, L-1A and L-1B petitions should include either the new fee, or a statement outlining why this new fee does not apply. Where USCIS does not receive a fee or such a statement with the initial petition filing, it may issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) to determine whether the petition is covered by the public law. An RFE may be required even if such evidence is submitted, if USCIS has further questions.
The fee imposed by Public Law 111-230, where applicable, is in addition to the base filing fee, the Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee, and any other applicable USCIS fees, needed to file a petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker (Form I-129), as well as any premium processing fees, if applicable.
We caution that the foregoing discussion is a very broad summary of the newly imposed law. This information should not be construed as legal advice for any one immigration matter. We will continue to update you as this issue develops.
|
OPML |
Search This Site |
Home
•
del.icio.us
digg
facebook