H-1B visa fee is here to stay: Immigration attorney says employees should hire through L-1 visa to bypass $100K

The H-1B cap pre-registration opens March 4 and will continue till March 19, the USCIS has already announced. This is the first time that the employers will have to make a payment of $100K for each H-1B applicant who is not present in the US at the time of the selection and petition filing. The visa fee announced by the Donald Trump administration was legally challenged but there was no ruling or stay on it which means companies this year have to shell out the money.

In the latest podcast of Murthy Law Firm, attorney Anna Stepanova said that companies now have to broaden their search as they can't solely depend on H-1B. Stepanova said L-1 visa programs also allow companies to hire from outside the country but there are some conditions. And this may require some planning and infrastructure, which companies may not have this year but going forward L-1 visa program can be an avenue for companies to bypass the $100,000 H-1B fee.

What is L-1 visa?

L-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa used by multinational companies to transfer high-level managers from overseas to the US. There are two types of L-1 visas. L-1A visas are for multinational managers and executives and L-1B visas are for employees with specialized knowledge. But the main catch is that the non-US company where these applicants must have worked before outside the US must be related to the petitioning US entity (i.e., a subsidiary, affiliate, etc.) and must provide USCIS with documentary proof of this relationship.




Stepanova said that L-1 visa program can be an excellent entry point in the present situation but it is not the universal solution. L-1 employees can switch to H-1B after coming to the US and can also apply for a Green Card if all the requirements are fulfilled. L-1 visa programs have no lottery, no annual cap.