US Finalizes Rule Adding $4,000–$4,500 Fee to H-1B and L-1 Extensions at Visa-Heavy Employers

The US Department of Homeland Security has finalized a rule that extends the so-called 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee to H-1B and L-1 extension petitions, closing a long-standing gap that let covered employers renew existing workers without paying it. The final rule was published in the Federal Register on August 10, 2026 (91 FR 51360) and takes effect on September 9, 2026. The fee is substantial: $4,000 per H-1B petition and $4,500 per L-1 petition. It applies only to employers with 50 or more employees in the United States where more than half of that US workforce holds H-1B or L-1 status, a group that includes many large IT-services and staffing companies. For workers at those companies, the practical effect is that every extension of stay now carries the same surcharge as a new hire.

Background

Congress created the 9-11 Response Fee in December 2015 to fund biometric entry-exit systems, attaching it to petitions from employers that rely heavily on H-1B and L-1 workers. Under the interpretation in force since then, the fee applied to initial petitions and change-of-employer petitions, but not to extensions filed by the same employer for the same worker. DHS proposed closing that gap in June 2024, took public comments through July 8, 2024, and estimated at the time that the expansion would generate roughly $157 million in additional payments each year. The proposal survived the change of administration: it appeared as a pending final rule in the 2026 regulatory agenda, and the final version has now been issued.

What exactly changed

The final rule makes the fee payable on all H-1B and L-1 extension-of-stay petitions filed by covered employers, in addition to the initial and change-of-employer petitions it already covered. One exemption remains: an amended petition that does not include an extension request, for example to report a change in work location mid-validity, does not trigger the fee. The definition of a covered employer is unchanged. It captures petitioners with at least 50 US employees where more than 50 percent of those employees are in H-1B or L-1 status. The underlying statute currently applies to petitions filed through September 30, 2027, so the expanded fee runs at least until that sunset unless Congress extends it.

Who it affects

The fee is an employer cost, so workers will not be billed directly. The impact lands on people employed by the large consulting and IT-services firms that meet the 50/50 workforce test, a group in which Indian nationals on H-1B visas are heavily represented. An H-1B worker at a covered employer who extends status twice while waiting on a green-card backlog now represents $8,000 in added filing costs to their employer, on top of standard fees. That math can influence real decisions: whether a company extends a worker posted in the US or rotates the role home, and how aggressively it pursues extensions for staff on the bench between client projects.

What this means in practice

If your H-1B or L-1 status expires in late 2026 and your employer is a covered company, an extension filed before September 9 avoids the new fee; one filed after it will cost the employer $4,000 to $4,500 more. It is reasonable to ask your immigration team which side of the line your filing falls on, since petitions can be submitted up to six months before the current status expires. Nothing changes about eligibility, processing times, or the documents you provide. Workers at smaller employers, universities, and companies with a mostly US workforce are outside the rule entirely. Our United States country guide (/country-guides/united-states) covers the wider H-1B landscape, including the fee environment employers now navigate.