U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Monday updated its site to say who must pay the new $100,000 H-1B fee, how and when to do it, and which cases are exempted, according to guidance issued by the agency and supporting materials from the USCIS. The mandate stems from a Sept. 19 presidential directive placing tighter entry checks on certain nonimmigrant workers, following a White House proclamation.
The fee is imposed on the majority of new H-1B petitions filed on or after 12:01 a.m. ET Sept. 21 on behalf of non-U.S. beneficiaries who don’t have a valid H-1B visa, USCIS’ H-1B webpage and an accompanying advisory from the State Department report. USCIS explained that employers must present proof of payment when petitioning or the petition will be denied, according to agency filing guidelines pertaining to the H-1B program and the I-129 process, according to the USCIS and the Form I-129 page.
USCIS directed payors to use an online form on the Treasury portal and complete the transaction before submitting to the agency, according to Pay.gov. The State Department notice also says the fee requirement applies to petitions received after the effective time on Sept. 21 and includes visa issuance and entry to covered H-1B cases, according to the State Department.
Petitions that are not affected are H-1B extensions, status changes, or amendments that were issued to employees already in the United States, and petitions that were received prior to the effective date on Sept. 21, according to the USCIS. Issued and pending H-1B visas outstanding are not being rescinded by the order, and visa holders may still travel on existing documents, as outlined by the State Department.
The agency explained that waivers to the $100,000 payment are permitted only in exceptionally unusual situations wherein the secretary of Homeland Security determines that the admission of the worker is in the national interest and there is no American worker who can be utilized, under a USCIS notice outlining the proclamation and implementation procedures. The notice once again affirms that petitions under the payment are denied when filed without proof of payment or proof of a granted waiver, says the USCIS.
The guidance follows weeks of confusion since the proclamation took effect. USCIS’ websites now tie the fee to the filing channel and the geographical location of the filer at the time of filing, and instruct employers to complete payment on Pay.gov prior to filing petitions, according to the USCIS and Pay.gov. More procedural instructions may still be refined as agencies implement the order, consistent with the White House proclamation and the State Department.
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