United States of America
H-1B Specialty Occupation: government fee breakdown
By Sam Parks · Last checked:
Source auto-reconfirmed 23 July 2026 by the daily automated check (figures unchanged since last review).
A single initial H-1B petition costs around $3,600 in USCIS filing fees for a standard employer, excluding premium processing and the separate consular visa fee.
These are the fees paid to the United States of America government. For sponsored routes, the payer varies by country and component; use the item notes and primary source to confirm whether the sponsor, applicant, or both pay. Fees for dependants, priority services, or higher salary bands may change the total.
How much does the H-1B Specialty Occupation cost in United States?
A single initial H-1B petition costs around $3,600 in USCIS filing fees for a standard employer, excluding premium processing and the separate consular visa fee.
Verified against USCIS — Fee Schedule (Form G-1055) on 1 July 2026.
US petition cost controls
US H-1B, O-1 and TN petition cost, payer and stage evidence
The fee page lists government charges. This layer adds the stage and payer context needed before turning those charges into an all-in cost answer.
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 cost-to-complete model
- 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.
Headline total
US$3,595
Initial H-1B, standard employer (>25 FTE, not H-1B-dependent), no premium
No changes recorded for this figure since 1 July 2026.
Currency
USD (United States dollar)
Last checked
1 July 2026
Itemised fees
| Fee component | Amount | Mandatory? |
|---|---|---|
USCIS registration fee (annual lottery entry)# Cap-subject employers pay this before the lottery/selection stage. Cap-exempt petitions do not use the annual registration process. Confirm against USCIS G-1055 before filing. | US$215 | Yes |
I-129 filing fee (petition, standard)# Standard employer filing fee for Form I-129. Employers with 25 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees pay $460. Confirm against USCIS G-1055 before filing. | US$780 | Yes |
Asylum Program Fee# Standard employer rate. Non-profits and small employers pay reduced or zero rates ($300 / $0). | US$600 | Yes |
ACWIA training fee# Standard employer rate. Employers with 25 or fewer employees pay $750. Some petitions are exempt, including certain schools and nonprofit research organizations. | US$1,500 | Yes |
Fraud Prevention & Detection Fee (initial petitions only)# Applies to initial H-1B petitions and changes of employer; generally not repeated for a same-employer extension. | US$500 | Yes |
Public Law 114-113 fee (large H-1B-dependent employers)# Applies only to employers with 50+ employees where more than 50% are on H-1B or L-1. | US$4,000 | Optional |
Premium Processing (optional)# Guarantees USCIS adjudicative action within 15 business days. Raised from $2,500 in February 2024. | US$2,965 | Optional |
DS-160 / consular visa fee (applying from abroad)# Paid by the beneficiary at the US embassy/consulate after petition approval. Verify the current MRV fee and local payment rules on the appointment portal for the consular post. | US$205 | Optional |
Worked example
Initial H-1B, standard employer (>25 FTE, not H-1B-dependent), no premium — US$3,595
- $215 registration
- $780 I-129
- $600 Asylum Program Fee
- $1,500 ACWIA training
- $500 Fraud Prevention & Detection
How to read these fees
The US$3,595 headline covers initial H-1B, standard employer (>25 FTE, not H-1B-dependent), no premium. Of the 8 components listed above, 5 are mandatory and 3 are optional add-ons (such as priority processing) you can choose to skip. The single biggest mandatory line is ACWIA training fee at US$1,500.
Bringing family changes the total — see the dependant section below. Treat the figure as a planning estimate rather than a quote: confirm each line on the official source linked below on the day you pay, because these fees are revised regularly.
Dependant fees
H-4 dependants filing in the United States generally use Form I-539; verify the current G-1055 fee and whether any biometric-services fee applies. Consular H-4 applicants pay the applicable MRV fee where required.
Why fees change
USCIS G-1055 and H-1B guidance should be checked immediately before filing. USCIS states that certain H-1B petitions filed at or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern on 21 September 2025 for beneficiaries outside the United States must include proof of the separate $100,000 proclamation payment or exception evidence; implementation, litigation posture and exception eligibility can move quickly. From FY2027, cap-subject H-1B registrations are selected by a wage-weighted process rather than a purely random lottery.
Primary source
USCIS — Fee Schedule (Form G-1055)
https://www.uscis.gov/g-1055
Cite or reuse this dataset
This figure is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite the Visa Atlas page for the compiled, dated dataset, and cite the official source for the underlying government rule.
Suggested citation
Visa Atlas, "H-1B Specialty Occupation fee schedule", https://visaatlas.org/fees/us/h-1b. Last verified 1 July 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/fees
Frequently asked questions
How much does the H-1B Specialty Occupation cost in government fees?
A single initial H-1B petition costs around $3,600 in USCIS filing fees for a standard employer, excluding premium processing and the separate consular visa fee. The worked example assumes initial h-1b, standard employer (>25 fte, not h-1b-dependent), no premium, totalling US$3,595. Fees for dependants, priority service, or higher-tier salary bands change the total — see the itemised table above.
Are these fees refundable if my application is refused?
Most application fees are non-refundable once the government begins processing. Some jurisdictions refund specific components (e.g. Canada's Right of Permanent Residence Fee refunds if refused; UK IHS refunds if the visa is refused). Check the linked primary source for the route you are applying to.
How often do these fees change?
USCIS G-1055 and H-1B guidance should be checked immediately before filing. USCIS states that certain H-1B petitions filed at or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern on 21 September 2025 for beneficiaries outside the United States must include proof of the separate $100,000 proclamation payment or exception evidence; implementation, litigation posture and exception eligibility can move quickly. From FY2027, cap-subject H-1B registrations are selected by a wage-weighted process rather than a purely random lottery.
Do dependants pay the same fees as the primary applicant?
H-4 dependants filing in the United States generally use Form I-539; verify the current G-1055 fee and whether any biometric-services fee applies. Consular H-4 applicants pay the applicable MRV fee where required.
Next steps
Full visa guide
Eligibility, application steps, and FAQs for the H-1B Specialty Occupation.
Processing time
How long the H-1B Specialty Occupation takes from application to decision.
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Reviewed by Sam Parks, Editor and lead researcher.