It will cost US visa seekers more to fulfill their American Dreams in the near future, as USCIS has proposed US visa fee hikes for H1B and EB5 aspirants. Other visa categories such as L and O are unlikely to remain immune to a steep hike in fees. Only the USCIS fees for premium processing of visas in all categories will remain unaffected; however, the premium processing timeline will increase from 15 calendar days to 15 business days as proposed by USCIS.
EB5 – the Golden Visa that ensures the fastest route to earning a Green Card – will cost foreign investors and entrepreneurs 204 times more than its current fees. If the USCIS visa fee hike proposal is approved, an EB5 visa will cost $11,160 instead of $3,675. This will surely be another setback to EB5 visa seekers since the investment cap has been raised from $500,000 to a minimum of $800,000.
The proposed H1B visa fee hike is, undoubtedly, not a fair surprise to H1B visa sponsors. The US employers hiring high-skilled foreign workers will have to shell out $780, a 70% hike of $460 per application. Moreover, the H1B pre-registration fee is proposed to get a steep hike by 2050% – from a meager $10 to a whopping $215. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) agency reasons that they sought a significant hike in the H1B pre-registration fee based on a review of the increasing cost of managing the H1B registration system.
In its US visa fee hike proposal, USCIS sought a 201% increase from $460 to $1385 for an L1 visa, non-immigrant access for intra-company transfer. The O1 visa fee is likely to go up by 129%. O1, a visa for non-immigrant individuals with extraordinary ability or achievements, is one of the few options highly-accomplished STEM professionals on H1B can switch to during the 60-day grace period following a layoff. They may find this option a deterrent if the O1 visa fee increases.