Great Analysis from AILA to share with our readers. PL 111-230 requires the submission of an additional fee of $2,000 for certain H-1B petitions and $2,250 for certain L-1A and L-1B petitions postmarked on or after August 14, 2010. Petitioners subject to this new fee include employers with more than 50 employees in the U.S., for which 50% of their workforce is on H and L visas. The fee will remain in effect through September 30, 2014.
USCIS indicated that Vermont Service Center and California Service Center were instructed to hold any H or L petitions sent after that date, pending guidance on how to determine whether the petitioner is subject to the new fee. USCIS will be modifying the I-129 or H-1B Data Collection Form to include information on whether this fee applies.
In the interim, USCIS suggested that petitioners could proactively include a “certification” regarding the fee, including a notation of whether the fee is required in bold capital letters at the top of the cover letter. The sample certification that the petitioner is not obligated to pay the fee would be:
“[Name of employer] has over [insert total US employees] employees in the United States, of whom fewer than [insert number or percent] are H-1B or L nonimmigrants. As such, [name of employer] is not subject to the additional fees required under PL 111-230.”
We will update our readers as we receive more guidance on this new change.