H-1B Visa: In January 2023, USCIS released a 469-page document proposing this fee increase. If this proposal is implemented, American employers may have to face this fee increase. The proposed fee is expected to be finalized in December 2023 or January 2024, after which it will be implemented 60-90 days later.
H-1B Visa: There is going to be a big change in the immigration process, the impact of which professionals going to America may have to face. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has proposed a huge fee increase. The proposal includes an increase in fees for H-1B visa related processes, including registration.
When will the fee increase?
In fact, in January 2023, USCIS had issued a 469-page document, in which this fee increase was proposed. If this proposal is implemented, American employers may have to face this fee increase. The proposed fee is expected to be finalized in December 2023 or January 2024, after which it will be implemented 60-90 days later.
How much increase in fees?
Let us tell you that since the Corona period, it was made mandatory for American employers to register the beneficiaries electronically for H-1B Visa and file applications only for the selected beneficiaries. Regarding the proposed fee increase, USCIS said that the proposed fee for electronic registration is $10, which may further increase by 2050 percent to $215.
Why the fee increase?
H-1B cap applications are required to be filed only for beneficiaries selected in the lottery process. It is said that the e-registration fee was only $10, but now it has been proposed to increase it by 2050 percent to $215. USCIS said about 96 percent of its funding comes from application fees alone. Such fee increases are necessary to recover agency costs and improve processing backlogs caused by the pandemic. Its income also decreased by 40 percent during the Corona period. At the same time, due to shortage of staff, the pressure on the immigration agency to approve old applications continued to increase.
