United States of America
H-1B Specialty Occupation: total cost to complete
By Sam Parks · Last checked:
A source-linked budget for a standard initial H-1B petition: registration, Form I-129, asylum, ACWIA and fraud fees, DOL prevailing-wage salary evidence, optional premium processing, consular costs, large-employer surcharges and the conditional 2025 proclamation payment exposure.
What does the H-1B Specialty Occupation actually cost?
Mandatory non-refundable costs are US$3,595. Refundable proof-of-funds requirements are tracked separately at US$62,000-US$150,000, because that money is shown or blocked rather than normally lost.
Verified against USCIS - Form G-1055 fee schedule on 1 July 2026.
US petition cost controls
US H-1B, O-1 and TN petition cost, payer and stage evidence
The cost page answers one route. This cross-route layer keeps payer, stage, optional premium processing and eligibility gates visible before comparing US petition costs.
Employer-side versus applicant-side costs
USCIS petition filing, employer wage attestations and applicant consular fees do not have the same payer. Keep the payer visible before quoting any H-1B, O-1 or TN total.
Optional premium processing is not baseline
Premium processing can speed eligible I-129 adjudication, but it is optional and excluded from the baseline unless the filing strategy actually uses Form I-907.
Wage, evidence and intent gates are not fees
H-1B prevailing wage, O-1 evidence and petitioner requirements, and TN USMCA profession or temporary-intent gates are approval conditions, not money paid away to the government.
Stale USCIS fee trap
Re-check USCIS G-1055, H/L fee guidance, I-907 premium processing, State MRV, CBP and DOL sources before reuse. H-1B proclamation exposure and wage-weighted selection are conditional policy lines, not baseline fees.
| Route | Baseline and fee example | Payer and filing stage | Eligibility or evidence gate | Optional or conditional lines | Source date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H-1B - H-1B Specialty OccupationCost modelGovernment fee page | Cost model: US$3,595Fee worked example: US$3,595 (Initial H-1B, standard employer (>25 FTE, not H-1B-dependent), no premium). | Registration, DOL LCA, employer Form I-129 petition, then change of status or consular stamping.Core petition filing is employer-side in the model; the DS-160/MRV line is beneficiary-side only when a visa stamp is needed abroad. | Prevailing-wage salary evidence (DOL LCA): US$62,000-US$150,000 | Premium Processing (Form I-907): US$2,965Consular: DS-160 / consular MRV visa fee: US$205.Conditional: Foreign degree evaluation: US$0-US$250; Certified translations: US$0-US$200; Public Law 114-113 fee (large H-1B-dependent employer): US$4,000. | 1 July 2026USCIS — Fee Schedule (Form G-1055) |
| O-1 - O-1 Individuals with Extraordinary Ability or AchievementCost modelGovernment fee page | Cost model: US$1,655-US$2,155Fee worked example: US$1,655 (Single initial O-1, standard employer, no premium). | US employer or agent Form I-129 petition with evidence, consultation where required, then consular stamping if abroad.The USCIS petition is filed by the employer or agent; consular MRV and some evidence-service costs can sit with the beneficiary depending on the engagement. | O-1 evidence-threshold gate: US$0; US employer or agent petitioner gate: US$0; Peer-group or labor consultation/advisory opinion: US$0-US$500 | Premium Processing (Form I-907): US$2,965Consular: DS-160 / consular MRV visa fee: US$205; Visa appointment, courier, photos and local travel: US$0-US$300; O-3 dependant consular MRV visa fee: US$205.Conditional: Attorney or petition-preparation fees: US$2,500-US$8,000; Evidence package: letters, press, archive and translations: US$0-US$1,000; Credential evaluation where useful: US$0-US$250. | 1 July 2026USCIS - Form G-1055 fee schedule |
| TN - TN USMCA Professionals (Canada & Mexico)Cost modelGovernment fee page | Cost model: US$80Fee worked example: US$80 (Canadian citizen, port-of-entry filing). | Canadian CBP admission, Mexican consular visa, or employer Form I-129 change/extension path.Canadian border and Mexican consular paths are applicant-facing; employer I-129 filing is a separate optional path for changes, extensions or pre-approval. | USMCA profession eligibility gate: US$0; Prearranged U.S. employer support-letter gate: US$0; Temporary-entry / nonimmigrant-intent gate: US$0 | Premium Processing (Form I-907): US$2,965Consular: Temporary-entry / nonimmigrant-intent gate: US$0; Mexican TN/TD consular MRV visa fee: US$185; Consular appointment, courier, photos and local travel: US$0-US$300.Conditional: Foreign credential evaluation where required: US$0-US$250; Consular appointment, courier, photos and local travel: US$0-US$300; Form I-129 E/TN filing fee (paper, standard employer): US$1,015. | 1 July 2026USCIS / CBP / State Department TN fee sources |
Publisher-ready citation snippet
Visa Atlas separates US employment-petition cost answers by payer and stage: H-1B combines registration, LCA wage evidence and employer I-129 fees; O-1 combines petitioner, evidence and advisory-opinion gates; TN splits Canadian CBP, Mexican consular and employer I-129 alternatives.
- Tech worker route comparison
- H-1B visa guide
- H-1B government fee page
- O-1 visa guide
- O-1 cost-to-complete model
- O-1 government fee page
- TN visa guide
- TN cost-to-complete model
- TN government fee page
- Cost-to-complete JSON
- Fees JSON
- Visa JSON
- How our US petition cost figures compare
Latest source record in this cluster: 1 July 2026. This cluster supports retrieval and review, not ranking, traffic, AI-citation or market-share outcome claims.
What it actually costs
A source-linked budget for a standard initial H-1B petition: registration, Form I-129, asylum, ACWIA and fraud fees, DOL prevailing-wage salary evidence, optional premium processing, consular costs, large-employer surcharges and the conditional 2025 proclamation payment exposure.
Money you don't get back
US$3,595-US$3,595
Mandatory fees, services and one month of insurance.
Proof of funds (returned to you)
US$62,000-US$150,000
Not a fee. The employer must attest on the LCA to paying at least the higher of the actual wage or the occupation/geography-specific prevailing wage; this range is the VisaAtlas planning proxy for common H-1B wage bands.
| Cost line | Amount | Type | When / who |
|---|---|---|---|
| USCIS H-1B registration | US$215 | Gov fee | Cap-subject employers pay this before the lottery/selection stage. Cap-exempt petitions do not use the annual registration process. USCIS - Form G-1055 fee schedule |
| Form I-129 H-1B filing fee | US$780 | Gov fee | Standard employer filing fee for Form I-129. Employers with 25 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees pay a lower small-employer fee. USCIS - Form G-1055 fee schedule |
| Asylum Program Fee | US$600 | Gov fee | Standard employer rate. Small employers pay a reduced amount and nonprofits generally pay USD 0 under the USCIS H/L fee guidance. USCIS - H and L filing fees for Form I-129 |
| ACWIA training fee | US$1,500 | Gov fee | Standard employer rate for an initial H-1B, change of employer, or first extension. Small employers pay USD 750 and some education/nonprofit research petitions are exempt. USCIS - H and L filing fees for Form I-129 |
| Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee | US$500 | Gov fee | Applies to initial H-1B petitions and changes of employer; generally not repeated for a same-employer extension. USCIS - H and L filing fees for Form I-129 |
| Prevailing-wage salary evidence (DOL LCA) | US$62,000-US$150,000annual salary | Proof of funds | Not a fee. The employer must attest on the LCA to paying at least the higher of the actual wage or the occupation/geography-specific prevailing wage; this range is the VisaAtlas planning proxy for common H-1B wage bands. U.S. Department of Labor - LCA program and prevailing wage |
| Foreign degree evaluation(optional)· indicative | US$0-US$250 | Service | Conditional: often needed when the specialty-occupation qualification relies on a non-U.S. degree; minimum is zero for U.S. degrees or already-accepted evidence. Credential-evaluation providers - verify employer and attorney requirements |
| Certified translations(optional)· indicative | US$0-US$200 | Service | Conditional: required only for documents not in English. Rates vary by country, language pair and document length. Country-specific certified translation provider - verify locally |
| Premium Processing (Form I-907)(optional) | US$2,965 | Gov fee | Optional faster USCIS adjudicative action for Form I-129 H-1B petitions; excluded from the baseline total. USCIS - Form I-907 premium processing |
| DS-160 / consular MRV visa fee(optional) | US$205 | Gov fee | Conditional: paid by beneficiaries who need an H-1B visa stamp abroad after petition approval. Verify the current fee and local payment rules on the appointment portal for the consular post. U.S. Department of State - Temporary Worker Visas |
| Public Law 114-113 fee (large H-1B-dependent employer)(optional) | US$4,000 | Gov fee | Conditional employer-side surcharge when the petitioner has 50 or more U.S. employees and more than 50% of its U.S. workforce is in H-1B or L-1 status. USCIS - H and L filing fees for Form I-129 |
| Presidential Proclamation H-1B payment exposure(optional) | US$100,000 | Gov fee | Conditional: USCIS states some petitions filed at or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern on 21 September 2025 for beneficiaries outside the United States must include payment or exception evidence. Verify current implementation, litigation posture and exception eligibility immediately before filing. USCIS - H-1B Specialty Occupations |
| Attorney or petition-preparation fees(optional)· indicative | US$1,500-US$5,000 | Service | Common employer-side professional-service cost, but not a government fee and not legally required in every case. Complex RFEs, amendments or compliance files can cost more. Indicative immigration counsel range - verify engagement quote |
Baseline sunk cost is the standard-employer initial H-1B registration, Form I-129, Asylum Program, ACWIA and Fraud Prevention fees for a cap-subject petition: no premium processing, not H-1B-dependent, no consular MRV line, and not subject to the September 2025 proclamation payment. The DOL salary line is shown separately because it is wage evidence, not money paid away. Conditional service, consular, large-employer and proclamation lines are excluded unless they apply to the actual filing. Last checked 1 July 2026.
Cite or reuse this dataset
This cost model is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite Visa Atlas for the compiled sunk/refundable split and cite each linked authority or provider source for the underlying line item.
Suggested citation
Visa Atlas, "H-1B Specialty Occupation cost-to-complete model", https://visaatlas.org/cost-to-complete/us-h-1b. Last verified 1 July 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/cost-to-complete
Primary and supporting sources (7)
FAQs
What does the H-1B Specialty Occupation actually cost to complete?
Mandatory non-refundable costs are US$3,595 in the current model. Separately, refundable proof-of-funds requirements are US$62,000-US$150,000. The line table explains each item and source.
Is proof of funds a sunk cost?
No. Proof of funds is money you must show, hold or block. It can still be a cash-flow barrier, but it is different from application fees, document costs and insurance payments that you do not normally get back.
Why are some lines marked indicative?
Some third-party costs vary by country, provider and document count. Those lines use a range and are marked indicative so they are not confused with a single government tariff.