US Looks To Reintroduce 2000 USD Fee For H1B, L1 visas
Indian IT companies felt sigh of relief when they come across news about US has scrapped an additional fee of USD 2,000 for H-1B visa and USD 2,500 for L1 visa.
The additional filing fees of USD 4,325 for H-1B visa was reduced by USD 2,000 by the US Government earlier this September. This was a good news for the local IT industry. Popularly known as outsourcing fee, such a fee was called discriminatory by Indian companies.
Passed by the US Congress in August 2010, the law contained provision to increase H-1B and L-1 Visa fee per application by USD 2,000 and USD 2,250 respectively for companies having more than 50 percent of its employees overseas. The law was expired by September 2015 and many believed it will not come to existence gain.
"H-1B and L-1 petitions filed on or after October 1, 2015, should not include the additional fee that was previously required...For certain H-1B and L-1 petitions. The additional fee required by...Law... Expired on September 30, 2015," the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said in a statement in last October much joy to Indian IT firms.
But here comes the new shocker. A special USD 2,000 fee could return on H-1B and L-1 visas for Indian IT companies to fund a 9/11 healthcare act in the US with a group of Congressmen quietly mounting fresh efforts to re impose it. Lawmakers are seeking to permanently extend the bill and want to generate necessary funds by imposing a USD 2,000 additional fee on H-1B visas.
Such a move has been made part of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act which funds health screenings and treatments for 9/11 first responders. The bill has been written in such a way that it would impact only Indian companies. However it is not clear when this bill will be coming into existence.
News Posted: 15 December, 2015
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