TLDR:
- DHS has issued a final rule expanding when the additional $4,000 (H-1B) and $4,500 (L-1) fee applies.
- The fee now applies to all extension-of-status petitions.
- It still only applies to covered employers that employ 50 or more U.S. employees and where more than 50% of those employees hold H-1B or L-1 status.
- The rule is scheduled to be published on August 10, 2026, and will take effect 30 days later.
- Amended petitions that do not include a request for an extension of status remain exempt from the fee.
Why This Matters Right Now
If your company is one of the relatively small number of employers subject to the H-1B/L-1 “9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee,” you already know the additional $4,000 or $4,500 charge as an initial-petition cost; something you paid to hire someone new or bring on a transfer from another employer. Extensions for your existing H-1B and L-1 employees were, until now, generally exempt.
That’s changing. DHS has finalized a rule that closes what it now considers a gap in how the fee has been applied for years, and the change reaches routine extension filings that covered employers file all the time. For companies with large H-1B or L-1 populations, this can mean a meaningful, recurring increase in filing costs going forward.
What Changed
The additional $4,000 (H-1B) and $4,500 (L-1) fee, formally the 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee, was created by Public Law 114-113 and has been on the books for years. It has always applied only to covered employers: employers that employ 50 or more employees in the U.S., and where more than half of those employees hold H-1B or L-1 status.
Historically, DHS interpreted the fee as tied to the Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee, which generally applies to initial H-1B/L-1 petitions and change-of-employer petitions. Under that reading, a routine extension with the same employer didn’t trigger the Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee, and so it didn’t trigger the additional $4,000/$4,500 fee either.
DHS has now concluded that interpretation was too narrow. The underlying statute specifically references applications for an “extension of such status”, language DHS says was never fully implemented. Under the new final rule, covered employers must pay the fee on any petition requesting an extension of H-1B or L-1 status, regardless of whether the Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee applies:
- H-1B extension petitions: additional $4,000
- L-1 extension petitions: additional $4,500
Petitions that do not request an extension of status, such as a simple amended petition without any request for an extension of status, remain exempt from the fee.
Who This Affects
This rule does not change the underlying eligibility test for who counts as a “covered employer.” That test remains:
- 50 or more employees in the United States, and
- More than 50% of those U.S. employees hold H-1B or L-1 nonimmigrant status.
If your company already meets this threshold and has been paying the additional fee on initial petitions and change-of-employer petitions, you should expect to now pay it on same-employer extension petitions, the type of filing that was previously exempt under DHS’s older interpretation.
Smaller employers, and larger employers whose workforce isn’t concentrated in H-1B/L-1 status, remain unaffected. This rule doesn’t broaden the pool of employers subject to the fee, it broadens which petition types trigger the fee for employers already in that pool.
A Recurring Cost; Not a One-Time Fee
Because H-1B and L-1 status is typically granted in increments (commonly up to three years or two years, respectively depending on the case), covered employers file extensions for the same employees repeatedly over the life of their employment. Under the new rule, each of those extension filings can now carry the additional fee, on top of standard filing fees and any other applicable surcharges. For companies managing dozens or hundreds of H-1B or L-1 employees, this adds up.
What You Should Do Next
- Confirm whether your company is a “covered employer.” This depends on your total U.S. headcount and the proportion of that headcount in H-1B/L-1 status. This calculation may shift as your workforce changes.
- Budget for the change. If you’re a covered employer with upcoming H-1B or L-1 extensions, factor the additional $4,000 or $4,500 per petition into your immigration budget for filings after the rule’s effective date.
- Review your extension timeline. Petitions filed before the rule takes effect are governed by the current rules. Employers with extensions that could be filed either before or after the effective date may want to discuss timing with their immigration counsel.
- Watch the effective date. The rule is scheduled for publication on August 10, 2026, and takes effect 30 days after publication. This timing is worth building into your internal filing calendar now.
What This Means for Your Extension Budget
This is a technical-sounding fee rule with a real bottom-line impact for the employers it covers. It doesn’t change who’s eligible for H-1B or L-1 status, and it doesn’t affect most employers at all. For covered employers, however, it turns a fee that used to apply mainly at hiring or transfer into one that applies on a recurring basis, extension after extension.
Immigration compliance for global workforces is rarely just about the individual case, it’s also about tracking the fee structures, thresholds, and effective dates that shape what those cases cost. Nobody should navigate immigration alone, and that goes for the employers managing it just as much as the individuals living it. If you’re unsure whether your company meets the covered-employer threshold, or you want help planning around this rule’s effective date, Berardi Immigration Law can help you sort out what it means for your specific filings. Click here to book your consultation today.
FAQs
Q: Does this rule create a new fee?
No. The $4,000 H-1B and $4,500 L-1 fee already existed for covered employers. This rule expands when that existing fee applies (specifically, to extension-of-status petitions that were previously exempt) rather than creating a new charge or a new category of employer.
Q: Does every H-1B or L-1 employer now have to pay this fee?
No. The fee still only applies to “covered employers”, those with 50 or more U.S. employees where more than 50% of the workforce holds H-1B or L-1 status. Employers below that threshold are not affected by this rule.
Q: When does the new rule take effect?
The rule is scheduled for publication on August 10, 2026, and takes effect 30 days after publication. Extension petitions filed before the effective date should not be subject to the expanded fee requirement under the new rule.
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