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H1B Visa 2013 filing Fee ? Should you pay for H1B cost ?

With H1B Visa filing for fiscal year(FY) 2013 set to start tomorrow, some of you might be wondering with questions like :

  • Should I pay for H1B fee ?
  • Will the H1B sponsor pay for the H1B visa application filing fee ?
  • What cost can I bear ?
  • What are the laws that govern the H1B visa filing fee ?
  • Did H1B filing fee increase for FY 2013 ?
  • What is premium processing fee for H1B visa ?

Let me shed some light on the commonly asked questions related to fee.

What is H1B visa 2013 fee for USCIS ?
Below is the breakup of the various fee related to filing a H1B visa petition with USCIS for fiscal year 2013.

Base filing fee$325
AICWA Fee
(American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998)
$750  ( For employers with 1 to 25)
$1,500 ( For employers with 26 or    more full time equivalent employee )
Fraud prevent & detection fee$500
Fee based on Public Law 111 – 230$2000
Read H1B fee $2000 rule to check if it applies to your case
Premium processing fee (Optional)$1,225 ( if you intend to do premium)

Any additional cost the H1B Sponsor has to bear for visa filing ?

In addition to above mentioned fee, the employer incurs attorney fee. It can range anywhere from $500 to $2000 or more depending on the attorney…Some companies have a dedicated immigration department with attorneys, some go with external immigration practising agencies…

Should you pay for H1B visa fee ?
No, legally you should not pay for filing the H1B visa. It is a company’s expense.

Who pays for What in filing H1B visa petition ?

Fee  TypeFeeWho Pays for it ? Why ?
Base filing fee$325Employer.
It is employer’s business expense
AICWA Fee$750 or $1,500Employer.
It is employer’s business expense. Law requires that this fee is never passed to you or third party
Fraud prevent & detection fee$500Employer.
It is employer’s business expense. Just like above, it is mandated by law.
Fee based on Public Law 111 – 230$2000Employer.
It is employer’s business expense.
Premium processing fee (Optional)$1,225Optional fee. Either employer or You.
If you bear it, the employer has to demonstrate to DOL that it was expedited due to your personal reasons.
Visa fee ( fee involved in getting H1B visa at US consualte )varies by countryYour expense. All the costs involved in obtaining visa, including cost involved in translation of your credentials, etc. It will NOT be an employer’s expense. The employer will only send you the documents required for visa stamping.

Department of labor(DOL) has a great tool to clarify some of your questions, check out the article H1B Online advisory tool by DOL

Did H1B filing fee increase for FY 2013 ?
Not really. The last time it was impacted was during the H1B fee Public Law 111-230.

You should check out What NOT to give to your H1B sponsor visa petition filing ?

What are your thoughts on the fee USCIS is charging ?

 

 

   

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126 Comments

  1. I recently interviewed with a software company (based here in Sunnyvale, CA – but originally from Israel) and accepted their offer by signing an offer letter. They initiated H1-B transfer process for me, but later I decided not to join them. Now they are asking for reimbursement of this H1-B transfer fees (plus lawyer fees and interest). I would like to seek some advice on this. Am I liable to reimburse these fees? (The offer letter doesn’t seem to have any such liability clause)

    Reply
  2. Hi,
    i got an offer from one of USA employer they told me that they will provide h1b visa. but they are asking to pay me the visa fee which will be reimbursed.
    is it correct to pay visa fee.
    please help me if you know any thing about it.

    thanks

    Reply
    • Hi Yaser,

      Its not about you who is sitting in india and asked to for it . Employers do take money from in USA as well and some times they do pay more than the actual fees. No employer is willing to invest $3500 on a new employee. Although this is illegal to take accept the money but still it happens. Employers do have a fear once if they apply H1B visa for you and later on if you transfer the visa to some other consultancy their investment will get waste. But still you need to be very care full with whom you are dealing.

      Regards
      Arpit Mathur
      [email removed spam]

      Reply
  3. Hi,
    I am a Senior Test Engineer having 5.5 yrs of experience, looking for an H1B sponsor for April 2014.
    I am currently on H4 in USA charlotte. I am looking for some good references who can help me in filing or sponsoring the H1B. It would be very highly appreciable if you can share me the details. pls email me at rupalirgarad at gmail dot com

    Thanks,
    Rupali Garad

    Reply
  4. Hi,
    I am a Java Senior Developer looking for an H1B sponsor for April 2014.
    I am currently in H4. If someone has any good companies, could you pls email me at vvignesh2010 at gmail dot com

    Reply
  5. Dear Friend,

    Please kindly help me regarding to come USA from India on H1-b or any Visa please.
    I worked earlier 6 yrs (2000 to 2006)on H1-b visa.
    I am looking for some good references who can help me in filing or sponsoring the H1B from India.It would be very highly appreciable if you can share me the details.

    Thanks & Regards,
    M.G.Rajendra Prasad

    Reply
    • Dear Friend,

      Please kindly help me reg to come USA from India on H1-b or any Visa please.
      I worked earlier 6 yrs on H1-b visa.
      I am looking for some good references who can help me in filing or sponsoring the H1B from India.It would be very highly appreciable if you can share me the details.

      Thanks & Regards,
      M.G.Rajendra Prasad

      Reply
  6. I want to go to US. I am having experience of 3 years in Oracle. How can I apply for visa. I known a company in US they can send a offer letter to me. please provide guidance.

    Reply
    • Hello Pramod,

      As i m also looking for an employer , Can you please help with some references.

      my mail address is mittal.kanikaa at gmail dot com

      Kanikaa

      Reply
  7. hi

    somebody offer me to have a working visa of my son but i have to pay $5800 processing fee and $2325 filing fee. but she inform my son last April 6 that applciation of H1b will be dranw by lot according to advisory because the application double the quota required by USIS. $8100 is already the entrire amount that i pay until the H1b of my son will approve. Is $8100 is too much

    Reply
      • Hello Afred,

        As i m also looking for some good references who can help me in filing or sponsoring the H1B from India.
        It would be highly appreciable if you can share me the details

        mittal.kanikaa at gmail dot com

        Kanika

        Reply
    • Afred,
      Cap for this year is done. No more H-1s can be filed until April 1, 2014.

      H-1 fees is typically in the range of 2-4K USD plus attorney fees. The employer is required to pay for the fees. Looking at the amount you have quoted, the firm seems to be in business of making money out of H-1 filings.

      Reply
    • $8100 is too much. Here is the break-up of the charges usually the company has to pay.

      USCIS Base file – $1575
      Attorney fee – $3000 (approx.)
      Education Evaulation $500-$800 (approx.)
      Incidental charges $200-$300 (approx.)

      It should not be more that $5500

      Thanks.,
      Sathya

      Reply
  8. thanks for this amazing information. We are a first time h1b employeer and would lile to help one of our employee. However she is not bein honest with us about the cost. She first told us that she needs raise and we gave her it. She told us it is the only cost for employeer. Later we learnt aboit bais fees which is $2,750. Right now she also wants us to pay jer attorney but we will not do it. I also learnt that we will need to purchase his plane ticket to his country. We also learnt we will need to advertise to newspaper for 2 weeks. The cost keeps increasing and i just wanted to ask if there are any additional fees? We trying to help her bit she is being diahonest. I d not want to spend lots of money! Is there any other hidden feea or fuure process fees or is it a one time prpcess fee?
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Hina,
      I don’t know if you filed the H-1 or not, but as a first time H-1 filing employer its always better to hire an attorney to guide you through the process. In future, when the extension is filed (initial H-1 will be for 1-3 years), you will again have to pay for the processing (not as high as the first petition).

      Reply
    • Hello Hina,

      As i m also looking for some good references who can help me in filing or sponsoring the H1B from India.
      It would be highly appreciable if you can share me your details

      mittal.kanikaa at gmail dot com

      Kanika

      Reply
  9. HI Saurabh,

    One of the consultancy asking me to pay 3500 USD. And they said there may be 1-2 months bench after going to US, sal will be 65k/annum.
    SO now I want to pay 3500 for them, but I want to break down the amount. As you mentioned different fee above. Can I pay like some amount now and remaining during some steps successful?

    thanks

    Reply
    • Hello Srikant,

      As i m also looking for some good references who can help me in filing or sponsoring the H1B from India.
      It would be highly appreciable if you can share me the details

      mittal.kanikaa at gmail dot com

      Kanika

      Reply
  10. Saurabh ,

    Looks like you are doing good work to help people in this forum.

    Just one request .

    Can you please share some good h1b sponsors .

    my email id is … acdas007 at gmail dot com

    Thanks for your help in advance .

    Look forward to hear from you .

    Reply
  11. Hi,

    One of the consultant who has both Offshore and Onsite center is asking me to pay 3,000 $ and he will file my H1B visa.

    I will be signing one year bond and he will paying me 55,000 USD P/A.

    What is the Visa Rejection rate through consultant for H1B visa.??

    Please suggest whether I should opt for it or Not.

    Many thanks in Advance.
    Gaurav

    Reply
    • Gaurav,
      Search online for past H-1 approval rate for this specific employer. It is a more accurate number to guess the outcome than knowing the success rate of consulting companies in general.

      Reply
        • Gaurav,
          That’s a good success rate. Also ask them if they have direct clients and can submit client/project letter for petition/visa processing. In addition, how do they address employer-employee relationship concerns.

          Lastly, ask for a breakdown of the package. 55K USD may not be a good salary based on the location, but if they but the burden of items like health insurance on you it becomes a bad salary at every location. Also, if you have family traveling w/ you, you may not be able to save much w/ this salary.

          Having said that, you can change employers on H-1 and no one can force you to stay w/ them for 1 year.

          Reply
          • As an American IT worker, let me advise you and all others on this site that working for less than $65,000 US in most IT positions is a bad move, regardless of whether you are an H-1B holder or a U.S. citizen. The problem is that, as Saraubh said, benefits are taken out of your salary. There is no free health care in the U.S., you have to pay rent, utilities, and a fair share in taxes and social security contributions. By the time you finish with all of that, your take-home pay comes down from $55,000 to around $30,000 per year. Rent is going to cost you at least $12,000 per year, utilities another $12,000, and food will cost you about $6,000 or more depending on your diet and whether or not you can cook. Add all of that up and you may have $6,000 to pay for a car or other transportation per year. These are estimates, and everything fluctuates. I do not want to discourage people from accepting H-1B’s, or from applying to U.S. companies, but ask for higher salaries. Americans do, and not because we are greedy. We ask because we know how much it will cost to pay our expenses. If we want a car, we buy one. If we want a house, we buy one. If we want to see a doctor, we pay a doctor more per hour than we earn in two. I don’t want to see anyone come here and work themselves into the hole financially. That is what Americans do. By undercutting American salary requirements, you are hurting yourself as much as the American who has over $100,000 of student loan debt to pay back. I wish all of you well, and when the H-1B visa laws are rewritten to provide a fast-track to U.S. citizenship, as they were intended, it may solve some of the issues you are running into. Until then, please keep an open mind about American salaries and American workers. If a company jumps at your first salary offer, you sold yourself far too short. There are plenty of sites on the web that will tell you what the ‘cost of living’ is, but if you know anyone already in the U.S., ask what they make, what city they are in, and then ask what the gas prices are. I have found an almost direct correlation between the price of gas and the cost of living.

    • Hello Gaurav,

      As i m also looking for some good references who can help me in filing or sponsoring the H1B from India.
      It would be highly appreciable if you can share me the details

      mittal.kanikaa at gmail dot com

      Kanika

      Reply
  12. Hi,

    My H1-B Visa got approved on 15-Oct,2012. But subsequently I was released from the project (hence Client change) and the next project manager did not proceed with my Visa Stamping.As a result I got released from the 2nd project. Now, I have two questions –
    1.If I am not on a project, can my company pay for my stamping if there is no project client?
    2. Can I suggest that I will pay the Stamping fees? Can the company then go ahead with the processing
    3.Is there any timeframe within which I need to get my Visa stamped once it is approved?

    Reply
    • Trishna Sinha,
      1. Yes, they can. It depends upon their policies, and you may be asked about client/project details when appearing for the interview. So at times companies send you for interview only when you have a project w/ onsite opportunity.
      2. You can pay for the stamping fees. It is b/w you and your employer to figure out when to appear as you will need all documents at the time of stamping and some of them come from the employer about client/project.
      3. You need to get it stamped before the petition expiration date. However, whenever you appear for stamping make sure you carry most recent documents.

      Reply
  13. Hi Saurabh,

    I recently received a offer from a XYZ company, but they are asking for $$$$ dollars for my H1B Sponsoring. The company is having its office in US and India. They are providing a 80/20 share agreement. They promise to repay the H1B sponsoring fee if I stay with them for 18 months. Is it good to take this offer?

    Also I wanted to ask, should we neglect off all non-Everified companies?

    Reply
    • Amit,
      First the easy question – You should not neglect non Everified companies. I know few big employers who are no e-verified. Still consider them

      Now the more difficult question – legally, they are required to pay for H-1 fees. However, lot of consulting companies pass on the expense to you. Also, they cannot bound you to work for them for 18 months. So you can leave them prior to that as well, and looks like that you will lose money in this case. Ask them about the client/projects and look for their past H-1 filing success rate.

      Reply
  14. Hi Saurabh,

    I am on H4 and applying for H1 through a consultancy, I checked consultancy previous record on myvisajobs.com, company is pretty small like they have applied only 30 approx H1b visa every year(since 2004 or 2007) and their visa rejection rate is almost negligible.

    They are ready to do my visa but taking attorney fee 1200$ approximate, but they want a check without any name, that I am not able to understand if taking attorney fee is legal for H1B filling then why they are doing so ? Though they assured that,they are taking this amount(check) as security if in case my visa approved and I don’t join the company, at that time they will use.

    I asked so many people, everyone say though it is illegal company don’t take money in company name but some of them take money in some people name.

    Please suggest I should trust on myvisajob.com and should go ahead and risk a bit?

    Reply
    • Hi,

      Can you please provide me the consultants details.Actually I am also on H4 and looking for the sponsor who can transfer my H4-H1B.

      I got a call from join soft but they are asking for 4500$ processing fee.

      Thanks in advance

      Reply
          • Hi, can you also give me the consultant details, i am on L1 and looking for a sponsor for H1. Thanks in advance

        • Please send me visa details of several countries Jordan,Kuwait, Dubai, Bahrain. And I am looking for job in these type counties.

          Reply
        • Hi,

          I am looking for H4 to H1B transfer.
          Could you please provide me with the details of the consultancy who do that.

          Email: sagi_gurlin at yahoo dot com

          Thanks in Advance.

          Reply
      • Hey Niel…
        I am talking with an organization, they ready to process my H1B with 3K for Premium 4K. As i have checked there review on Myvisajobs and it is impressive.

        Reply
        • Hi can you plz tell me the employer who is sponsoring the H1 for H4?? Can you email me the details to mrupa526 at gmail dot com

          Reply
          • Hi can you plz tell me the employer who is sponsoring the H1 Can you email me the details to ppradeepele@ gmail dot com

            Ima searching long back but perfect consultancy iam not get if youany good consultancy to sponce H1 b please send me details on my mail id

          • There are many
            http://www.sabinfo.com , then Unites Software Groups, like many
            Here in US people greatly depend on Linkedin site for recruitment, so login in Linked in then search for H1B Visa sponsors, you get many

          • Ranjeet , sponsoring means you have to be in there payroll even for few months (depends on the agreement). Most of these guys are IT candidate resource suppliers.
            Check with http://www.sabinfo.com/ and one united software groups at Dublin, Ohio.

          • Yes,But those are reliable.I don’t mind to pay attorney fees but -organisation should be reliable.please suggest if you have any idea of good consultant.

        • Hello Niel,

          As per my observation , I found several consulting companies and consultants who are ready to file H1B against you in lieu they charge the entire amount from the individual,
          As i m also looking for some good references who can help me in filing or sponsoring the H1B from India.

          Kanika

          Reply
        • Hello Suresh,

          As i m also looking for some good references who can help me in filing or sponsoring the H1B from India.
          It would be highly appreciable if you can share me the details

          mittal.kanikaa at gmail dot com

          Kanika

          Reply
    • Mascot,
      I don’t know whether it is applicable to this company or not, but some companies do that – take check w/ no names and then deposit in their accounts and use it for H-1 filing purpose. It is ok to take the attorney fees from you, but when they do such a thing (check w/ no name) then that raises flags.

      Did you ask them why they don’t want the name on the check? Have they not decided the attorney?

      And then they tell you that they will use this only when you decide not to join them. So it looks more like security deposit than attorney fees.

      Reply
      • Saurabh,

        Thanks for reply.
        Yes, I asked them why check without name, so they explained me same.
        We will not use this money, there are 80% chances we will return the same check to you back, if your visa get approved and your are doing good on job after 2-3 months.

        So if in worst scenario they didn’t file my H1B, I can put a case on basis of attorney fee?
        Taking attorney fee is legal for sponsoring H1B?Though I have given check with no name, but I have sent it to company address.

        Thinks are little bit messy, but what I smell is like they just want to make sure that if they are putting money for me . I didn’t run away and they get a loss from me, or else if visa got rejected we share the loss.

        But if company is doing visa since last 5-7 years continuously and e-verified company, I hope they will not cheat(not file my h1b) for such a small amount?? What do you suggest??
        Bcz, think is big consultancy are asking big money and that to they want to do modification in resume and they also have denial 🙁

        Reply
        • Hi Mascot,

          I am waiting for your reply.
          can you please send me the contact details of the consultant.I have one IT recruiter in HR at New Jersey.she can provide me the information about consultant and also guide if there process is wrong.
          please send me the details on;nielg1@gmail.com

          Reply
        • Mascot,
          Actually I just checked and taking attorney fees is also not legal. It is your decision about whether you want to go w/ it or not and how much risk you feel w/ the company.

          Reply
          • Thanks Saurabh,

            New Query 🙂 –
            Company who is filling my H1b is asking for my husband last 3 months pay stub scanned copy and h1 approval receipt copy saying that for H4 people its required?

            Do you have any idea about this, whether I should provide them copies ??

          • Mascot,
            For COS, they need spouse’s 3 payslips, 797 and latest I-94. This is required to establish that you have been maintaining legal H-4 status (your status is dependent on his status).

        • Hi Mascot,

          Can you please send me the contact details of this consultancy? I have some contacts in the industry and can look into it
          karanhe14 at yahoo dot com

          Reply
    • Hi,

      Can you please share the consultancy details, I am on H4 and also looking for H1b sponsor? My email id is priyazdubey27 at gmail dot com.
      I am also in touch with a consultancy and their rank on myviajobs seems pretty good but are asking for USD 4500. Not sure if they are trust worthy or not.

      Reply
  15. Dear surabh
    Actually I landed in USA 30 days bck but my employer did not find any job for me and even he did not generate any pay slip

    I’m planning go to India in May for my marriage.will there be any problem for me at portif entry will coming back.since I’m out of status now .
    Another thing can we change employer without pay slip
    Is it possible to revoke petition based no performance

    Wating for your reply

    Reply
      • DJ,
        That is not correct. If a person lands in US on H-1 and doesn’t apply for SSN for 6 months, is the employer legally ok not paying the person? There is no requirement to apply SSN soon after landing in US, and so employers can make their employees wait for as long as they want, if that would have been the case.

        SSN is required to withhold taxes. So an employer can pay now w/o SSN (they still need to complete the I-9 verification) and then deduct additional taxes when SSN comes through.

        Reply
    • Kiran,
      You need to get paid once you land in US. While returning to US, you may be asked about payslips at PoE and not having them can cause an issue. You will be travelling in May, so they may ask for 3 most recent payslips. So if you didn’t get paid in Jan but start getting paid now, it may become ok by the time you travel in May (as you will have 3 recent payslips). Still, legally they are required to pay you.

      Reply
  16. Sir,

    Please total how much fees for H1-b process and kindly help me H1-b USA visa process.
    Thanks & Regards,
    M.G.Rajendra Prasad

    Reply
  17. Sir,

    How much fees for new H1-b process 2013 year.When I need to start the H1-b process and how much time It will takes to get the h1-b papers etc…I am located now in India.

    Thanks & Regards,
    Rajendra

    Reply
    • M.G.Rajendra Prasad,
      The fees hasn’t changed since last year. So it’s still what is mentioned above. Typical processing time varies from 2-6 months, not including any time spent on RFE.

      Reply
  18. Hi,

    Currently I am working in a CMM level 5 company in India since last 2 years, before that I have completed masters in UK.

    I am interested in applying for H1B visa.

    So one of friend in USA find an employer for me, who has around 100 employees. Then the employer said he is ready to sponsor my visa for 2013, but he told that I should bear all the expenses including some extra amount for him.

    Now my questions are

    -how much its will cost for the entire process and what if my visa is rejected( is it refunded by USA?).

    -Do we need to pay all the money while filing a petition (or) some amount at the time of filing and some amount at the time of booking the interview date?

    Finally what are the chances of getting visa as my employer is small.

    Appreciate soonest response. Thanks in advance.

    Reply
    • Rakesh,
      – The filing fees is mentioned in the article above. USCIS doesn’t return any money in case the petition is denied or if the employer withdraws it
      – The amount needs to be paid to USCIS upfront. When you appear for visa stamping, you will have to pay additional fees which varies from consulate to consulate.
      – No one can tell you about the chances of approval. If it is a consulting company, then ask them about their clients and how they satisfy employer-employee relationship. Also ask them about their past approval rate.

      Reply
  19. Hi,

    Currently I am working in a CMM level 5 company in India since last 2 years, before that I have completed masters in UK.

    I am interested in applying for H1B visa.

    So one of friend in USA find an employer for me, who has around 100 employees. Then the employer said he is ready to sponsor my visa for 2013, but he told that I should bear all the expenses including some extra amount for him.

    Now my questions are

    -how much its will cost for the entire process and what if my visa is rejected( is it refunded by USA?).

    -Do we need to pay all the money while filing a petition (or) some amount at the time of filing and some amount at the time of booking the interview date?

    Finally what are the chances of getting visa as my employer is small.

    Appreciate soonest response. Thanks in advance.

    Reply
  20. Hi,My husband got H1 and he is working in USA.I am workingin India.I have got H4 with which i can not work.Plesae do let me know is there any way i can work?What is the procedure…pleas let me know

    Reply
    • Keerthi,
      An employer needs to file H-1 petition for you just like one did for your husband. In your case, they can file it w/ COS (change of status) from H-4 to H-1. You can start working once H-1 is approved w/ COS, typically Oct 1 2013.

      Reply
  21. Hi,

    I am Indian, currently I am working in MNC company (Malaysia- KL ). I am applying H1B visa. Can you please let me know , can I attend the (walk-in) visa interview in American consulate at Malaysia?
    or I need to go back India and attend the interview there?

    Thanks in advance
    Skumar

    Reply
  22. Hello,

    Im currently working on Gulf on IT and started to look for offers in USA as im going for hollidays and decided to give a try, how ever I got a email from one company called SABINFO were they are telling me on the email that they can give me employment and file my h1b visa petition this april when the cap open, but they are asking me along with the documents 3,000 dlls, my wife told me this is scam, i want to know if somebody knows of something similar, please advise.

    Reply
    • SPP,
      Lot of small consulting companies do this. They file the H-1 for you but ask you to bear the expenses. Not all of them are scam artists, but most of them are very small and don’t have your best of interest in mind (in addition paying for your H-1 fees is illegal).

      I would suggest doing more research on each company before zeroing on one. Ask for references, past H-1 approval rate, information about direct clients, salary, bond/contract etc.

      Like the old saying – Not all that glitters is gold.

      Reply
  23. Hi ,

    I am working in a Indian MNC. They have filed my petition for H1B visa in the month of May. I haven’t got any receipt no and no status at all yet. I have decided to quit the company due to some personal reasons. I haven’t signed any bond with the company related to visa process. But they are asking me to give amount of around 2 L rupees for fees spent on my petition yet. Is it legal ? What should I do in this situation ?

    Reply
    • Srinivasan K,
      Legally the employer is required to pay for the H-1 fees and not you. They can ask you for attorney fees and premium processing fees (if applicable), but they cannot ask for rest of the filing fees.

      Reply
  24. Hi Saurabh,

    I am working for a company on L1 Visa, My L1 Visa got expired on sept 26th,I submitted my documents on March 2012 for H1 processing. But , My employer is not willing to give me Pitition number/Receipt number but they are saying it is applied. I dont understand one thing here, why they are hiding my receipt number.I am on I-94 now. I have plan to go out of country in nov end.

    Please suggest, Here what can I do to get my petition number.

    Thanks in Advance,
    Chaitanya

    Reply
    • Chaitanya,
      At times companies hide it for fear that you may use it to change jobs on H-1. The only way to get H-1 petition number is through employer or attorney.

      Reply
    • You can get copy of petition by filing through freedom information act law.
      Here is the link may help.

      http://about.usps.com/handbooks/as353/as353c4_002.htm

      Reply
  25. Hi Saurabh,

    My employer provided a 13 digit receipt number in email.
    I did not have any documents inhands. When asked for documents, they said the entire package will be sent to me once H1 is approved. They also not willing to send me the scanned documents.

    My question is:
    1. How do I make sure that the receipt number provided is indeed my receipt.
    2. If it is my receipt, what could be the reason for not providing me the details at this stage.
    3. If the H1B goes in RFE for some reasons, can I continue with my L1 till expiration?
    4. If H1 is denied, do I have to submit the H1 denial copy at the time of L1 renewal with my existing company?

    FYI – This is H1B COS from L1B through a small organization

    Reply
    • SD,
      1. This can be proved only from 797C, which your employer is not willing to provide
      2. They fear that you will jump the ship and join another employer
      3. Yes
      4. Not required. You should just know the reason.

      Reply
  26. Hi Saurabh,
    I have a query regarding H1B visas. I’m currently with Company A & my H1B visa has been processed by Company A. I’ll be going onsite shortly for a duration of 2 weeks only (FYI, this would be the first onsite travel with this visa & my passport doesn’t have any other travel stamps, etc on this visa) & then would be returning back. At this point of time, if I get a good offer from another company, (say Company B), can I change?
    I had heard that with H1B visa, once I go onsite (even for once), I can change employers only at onsite. Or is it that I can change even after coming back to India?

    Reply
    • Jeet,
      It can be either onsite or offsite. If you return back to home country then another employer can file cap-exempt petition for you (aka H-1 transfer). Once approved, you can travel on old employer’s visa stamp (as long as it is still valid) and new petition to work for the new employer.

      Reply
  27. Hi Saurabh,

    I am working with an MNC. and my company commit me to process my H1b. For the same i have sent them all the respective doc in the month of March 2012. and still did’nt get any update on my H1b status. Today only i came to know my 13 digits receipt no. When i check tha status online @ https://egov.uscis.gov/ i have find just the doc receiving date which is 16 April in initial review tab. Now i have following question for the same.
    1. Is it confirm that my company is filling my H1B?
    2. As i have got my 13 digits receipt no. So, at this stage my company has submitted
    Just Base filing fee ($325) or Base filing fee + AICWA Fee $1500?
    3. At this stage, Will my company has rights to stop my H1B application?
    4. what is Fraud prevent & detection fee( which is 500$)?

    Early response is highly appreciated,

    Thanks in Advance.

    Reply
    • Jatin Sharma,
      1. If the receipt number is yours, then yes H-1 has been filed
      2. Yes
      3. Yes, they can withdraw the petition
      4. That is a mandatory H-1 fees every employer is supposed to pay for the H-1 program. It is used to prevent H-1B fraud and enforce the rules etc.

      Reply
      • Hi Saurabh,
        My 2nd question is still unanswered..
        As i have got my 13 digits receipt no. So, at this stage my company has submitted
        Just Base filing fee ($325) or Base filing fee + AICWA Fee $1500?
        Answer would be either
        A) Base fee i.e 325$
        B) Base + AICWA fee i.e 325+1500= 1825$

        Or If i twist the question then it would like this.
        For just getting the 13 digits receipt no, company has to submit how much amount inform of H1B fee.

        Pl Help!

        Reply
  28. Hi,
    I’m currently in India. I do have a MS degree from us.
    I was in the US for a few hrs. On h1 and have exhausted the full 6 yr. Term back in 2010 when I moved back.
    I just got an offer and the attorneys took all my details to file for the h1 from me today.
    They are however thinking that we might be already too late for this yrs. H1 application, is that possibly true?
    They said that the labor has to be done prior to filing for the premium processing of the visa, which might already put us on the fringe and the cap might expire.

    Any work around to this issue so that I can get in the quota from this yr.? Maybe petition and labor in parallel or something…?

    Reply
    • Hitesh,
      LCA is a pre-requisite to the H-1 filing and cannot be done in parallel. The quota may get over anytime during next few days and LCA processing can take around 7 business days. So it may be too late for this year.

      Reply
      • Gopi,
        Filing PP vs regular doesn’t improve one’s chance of making through the cap. If a regular and PP petition reaches USCIS on the same day, then both make through the cap (assuming cap is still open on that day). The only benefit of PP is that petition will be processed within 15 calendar days.

        Reply
        • I don’t think that is correct. The cap applies to the number of “approved” visas. So if you apply in regular, since the decision is delayed, the cap can get filled up by then. The cap is not on number of applications.

          Reply
  29. Hi Saurabh,

    I just completed a Masters degree in May 2012, and I am now on OPT (F-1 status), which expires in February 2013. I would like to get H1B visa to continue working in the US. When is the best time or when do you recommend for my employer to file for H1B?

    Thank you,

    Maryann

    Reply
    • Maryann,
      This is the right time for you to go ahead with new H1B.
      Its already reached 16,000 US advanced degree cap and most likely the masters cap will be closed by End of June 2013.

      Reply
  30. Dear Saurabh -Your blog and forum looks pretty helpful. I’m Indian Resident working at Malaysia. I got an offer fm one hospital- San Francisco (No even Tele-nterview). HR- Director emailed to Contact E&T Immigration office for further procedure. Asked me bear the traveling cost and later reimburse.
    Is their any fraud like other country on immigration?
    Is my package of 120K is Ok to stay with family(1 kid-11yrs) as I did not know CoL (Cost of Living)? What about Indian locality?
    How much time it takes for H1B?
    Pl. help me out as I’m in dilema weather to agree on proposal.?

    Reply
    • Nitin,
      Lot of Indians do not live in San Francisco but live and commute from areas like Fremont, San Jose, Sunnyvale etc which all come under San Francisco Bay Area (you can search more on this online). Salary os 120K USD is nice and not bad. But I don’t know about your expertise and experience to determine if it is good for your profile or not. CoL is on the higher side in the bay area, and it comes down to your lifestyle to determine how much you save.

      However, I don’t know if the offer is genuine or not as they didn’t even conduct a telephonic interview. Did you search for the employer online to see the reviews? You can also look at their past H-1 filings on FlcDataCenter website. Are they also asking you to pay for any other thing beside the travelling cost?

      Reply
  31. Is it possible to transfer from B2 to H1B while in US. My family too in US on B2.Can my employer transfer their status from B2 to my dependent. Please advise.

    Reply
    • TH,
      Technically yes. An employer can file COS form B-2 to H-1 and B-2 to H-4 for dependents. Whether it gets approved or not will depend upon the circumstances associated w/ your case.

      Reply
  32. Hello Saurabh,
    I got a job offer for a company here in US, I just graduated from a US university, because I did not file an OPT request the company said that cannot hire me without it, I am filing it now but it will take minimum of 90 days to get processed. So I asked if they could sponsor me for an H-1B and proposed to split the difference since I’d like to start as soon as possible, but they said that is too expensive (11K) and that takes a lot long than 3 months. From this post I can tell that their estimate is inaccurate, how about the time? Do you have any suggestions how I can take care of this problem?

    Thanks
    Manu

    Reply
    • Manu,
      H-1 processing can be done as quickly as 1 month if filed w/ premium processing. Under normal processing, it can take 2-6 months. If RFE is issued, then it can take longer. The cost to company is around 2-4K. I don’t know what kind of attorney cost they are assuming. You can ask them for a break-up and then see how they are coming up at 11K.

      Reply
  33. Hi Saurabh,

    My attorney asked me to sign a retainer’s agreement and sent him a hardcopy after signing.

    The retainer’s agreement that he sent me was a single page document which mentioned the fee I have paid to him in order to get my H1 petition filed.

    Could you shed some light on it?

    Thanks,
    Nadia.

    Reply
    • Nadia,
      Retainers agreement is a pretty standard attorney-client agreement. It should be ok to sign it especially if it only includes the amount paid to attorney for the H-1 filing.

      Reply
  34. Hi Saurabh,

    Can I transfer my H1-B visa, when I applied for renewal and the status is pending from long time, more than a year.

    Thank youi
    Jaya

    Reply
    • Jaya,
      I assume you are already in US. You can apply for transfer. However, it will not arrive w/ I-94 if your current I-94 has expired. This means you will have to go for H-1 visa stamping outside of US.

      Reply
  35. Hi Saurabh,

    I’m Lohith, my employer filled my H1B petition on 14th Sept 2011 and I got the WAC number too, But still the status of petition is in “Initial Review”.

    I asked you about this problem in the month of Feb12, I don’t know what to do. I’m confused, I expect at least Approved/Rejected status.

    To whom I have to contact now ? Still how long it takes for approval ? Please guide me in this regard.

    Thank You,
    Lohitha R

    Reply
    • Lohitha,
      You can ask your employer/attorney to call USCIS and follow-up. It should have been processed by now. Also, at times the online status is not changed instantly and may be misleading.

      The other option is to upgrade the petition to premium processing.

      Reply
      • Hi Saurabh,

        After your reply, I asked my employer to check with the USCIS regarding my case status, he consulted the USCIS through attorney. My case was approved on 20th Dec 2011, (I got this updates on 12th Apr 2012), but in online it was not updated and also they have not sent any approval. We have requested and expecting the approval within 30 days.

        So thank you for your guidance.

        Reply
  36. Hi,

    I had a US-H1B Visa which got expired in June 2010. I got to know that I can re-apply for H1B VISA on the same petition (obviously thru my employer) without the need to pay the entire H1-B Processing fees.

    I (the company) need to only pay the Base Filing Fees.

    Can someone please confirm this?

    Thanks,
    Rajesh

    Reply
    • Rajesh Bhat,
      As this will be considered as extension filed by same employer, only base fees is required. Not the other fees (fraud prevention etc). However, one will still have to pay attorney fees and premium processing fees (if opted).

      Reply

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