H-1B, L1 visa fee hike comes into effect

The steep hike in H-1B and L1 visa fees, which would cost Indian IT firms an additional $250 million annually, has come into effect from August 14, the US said on Friday.

The US move comes in the midst of protests by India that the increase incorporated in the Border Security Bill is discriminatory against Indian companies and needed to be amended.

The hike came into effect from Saturday last after President Barack Obama signed into law the Border Security Bill that allows certain measures to tighten security along the US-Mexico Border.

Now, an additional fee of $2,000 for certain H-1B petitions and $2,250 for certain L-1A and L-1B petitions will be charged and the rates will remain in effect till September 30, 2014, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services said.

These additional fees apply to petitioners who employ 50 or more employees in the United States with more than 50 per cent of its employees in the United States in H-1B or L (including L-1A, L-1B and L-2) non-immigrant status, it said.

Ignoring India's concern over some provisions in the Bill, the US Senate had last week passed the legislation after which Obama gave his assent.

The Bill approves $600 million plan to tighten security along the US-Mexico border by adding another 1,500 agents, deploy more unmanned vehicles to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and drug mafia.

The law will hit top Indian firms like Wipro, Tata, Infosys and Satyam, which use hundreds of these visas for their employees coming to the US to work at their clients' locations as technicians and engineers.

USCIS said on Friday it is in the process of revising the Petition for a Non-immigrant Worker (Form I-129), and instructions to comply with the new law.

In the statement, USCIS said it recommends that all H-1B, L-1A and L-1B petitioners, as part of the filing packet, include the new fee or a statement of other evidence outlining why this new fee does not apply.

Indian Ambassador to the US Meera Shankar had last week said the provisions of the Border Security Bill is discriminatory against Indian companies and asked the US to amend it.

Shankar lodged an official protest to the US Trade Representative Ambassador Ron Kirk on August 9, about five days before Obama signed the bill.

"We feel that the 'pay for' provisions of the Bill are not in keeping with the substantive cooperative agenda which the two governments are pursuing.

"We would ask that those provisions of the Bill that discriminate against companies of Indian origin may be suitably amended to create a level playing field for all companies," she said.