On August 13, 2010, President Obama signed Public Law 111-230, which 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. The additional fee applies to H-1B or L-1 petitioners that employ 50 or more employees in the United States with more than 50 percent of their employees in the United States in H-1B, L-1A or L-1B nonimmigrant status. The fee increase applies to covered petitions with a postmark date of August 14, 2010 or later. For petitions sent via courier services, the fee applies to filing packets picked up by the courier on August 14, 2010 or later.
Until the Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker (Form I-129) and the Nonimmigrant Petition Based on Blanket L Petition (Form I-129S) are revised, USCIS recommends that all H-1B, L-1A, and L-1B petitioners include, as part of the filing packet, the new fee or a statement or other evidence outlining why this new fee does not apply. USCIS requests that petitioners include a notation indicating whether or not the fee is required in bold capital letters at the top of the cover letter. The fee, statement, notation, or other evidence should be provided with each petition submitted. Where the fee or documentation is not submitted with the filing, or where questions remain, USCIS may issue a Request for Evidence to determine whether the additional fee applies to the petition. Because an RFE will be issued for the fee, rather than a rejection for the omission of the fee, USCIS will maintain the original filing date as the receipt date. Petitioners should wait to respond to the RFE before sending in the additional fee or an explanation of why the new fee does not apply. Once the revised Form I-129 and Form 1-129S are in place, USCIS will reject covered petitions submitted without the new fee.
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