If you’re sitting there thinking about the H-1B lottery, you’ve probably heard some wild numbers lately. Someone mentioned $100,000. Someone else said it’s just a couple hundred bucks. Honestly, the cost of H1 visa sponsorship has become a bit of a moving target.
Between the 2024 fee hikes, the 2025 "Trump Proclamation" drama, and the scheduled inflation adjustments for March 2026, it’s a lot to keep track of.
Let’s be real: hiring a foreign professional isn't cheap. But it’s also not a flat rate. The total price tag depends on how many people work at your company, whether you're a nonprofit, and—this is the big one—where the candidate is physically standing when you file the paperwork.
The Sticker Price: Government Fees in 2026
First off, let’s talk about the mandatory checks you have to write to USCIS. You can’t avoid these.
For the FY 2026 season, the journey starts with the Registration Fee. It used to be a measly $10. Now? It’s **$215**. You pay this just to enter the lottery. If your candidate doesn't get picked? You don't get that money back.
If they do get picked, the real spending begins.
The Basic Filing Fee (Form I-129)
Basically, the government charges you just to look at the application.
- Standard Fee: $780
- Small Employers (25 or fewer employees): $460
- Nonprofits: $460
The "Hidden" Mandatory Extras
It’s never just one fee. There are several supplemental costs that the Department of Labor and USCIS insist on.
- ACWIA (Training Fee): This goes toward training U.S. workers. If you have more than 25 employees, you’re on the hook for $1,500. Smaller shops pay $750.
- Fraud Prevention Fee: A flat $500. You pay this for initial petitions or when someone "transfers" their H-1B from another company to yours.
- Asylum Program Fee: This is a newer one. It’s $600 for big companies and $300 for small ones. Nonprofits actually catch a break here and pay $0.
The $100,000 Elephant in the Room
You might have seen headlines about a $100,000 supplemental fee. This came from a Presidential Proclamation in late 2025.
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Here is the nuance most people miss: It mostly applies to people outside the U.S. If you are hiring an F-1 student who is already here on OPT, or you're extending a current employee's H-1B, you probably don't have to pay this. It targets "new" entries to protect the domestic labor market. However, it’s currently tied up in heavy litigation. Most immigration attorneys, like the folks at Fragomen or Berry Appleman & Leiden, are telling clients to watch the courts closely before the March 2026 filing window.
Lawyer Fees: The Real "Soft" Cost
Unless you’re a glutton for punishment or have a massive internal legal team, you’re going to hire an immigration attorney.
Legal fees vary wildly. A boutique firm might charge $2,500 for a straightforward case. A high-end white-shoe firm in NYC or SF could easily bill $5,000 to $7,000 per petition.
And don't forget the RFE (Request for Evidence). If USCIS sends a letter saying, "We don't believe this job is a 'specialty occupation,'" your lawyer will charge you an extra $2,000 to $4,500 just to write the response. It sucks, but it's part of the game.
The Speed Tax: Premium Processing
If you need an answer fast, you pay for it.
Right now, the Premium Processing fee is $2,805. But heads up: it’s scheduled to increase to $2,965 on March 1, 2026.
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This guarantees a response in 15 business days. Without it? You could be waiting six to ten months. For most businesses, that uncertainty is more expensive than the fee itself.
Who Actually Pays? (The Legal Minefield)
There is a huge misconception that the employee can just pay for everything if they want the visa badly enough.
Don't do this. The Department of Labor is extremely strict. Under 20 C.F.R. § 655.731, the employer MUST pay the ACWIA fee and the Fraud fee. If you force the employee to pay the legal fees or the filing fees, and it drops their effective wage below the "prevailing wage," you are in deep trouble.
You're looking at back-pay orders and potentially being debarred from the H-1B program entirely.
The only thing an employee can usually pay for is the Premium Processing fee, and even then, only if it’s for their personal benefit (like wanting to travel home for a wedding) and not a business necessity.
Adding It All Up: The Total Damage
If you’re a mid-sized tech company hiring a software engineer who’s currently in the U.S. on a student visa:
- Registration: $215
- Filing Fee: $780
- ACWIA: $1,500
- Fraud: $500
- Asylum: $600
- Legal: ~$3,500
- Total: $7,095
If you add Premium Processing, you're knocking on the door of $10,000.
Compare that to a small nonprofit hiring a researcher: they might only spend about $3,500 total because they are exempt from half the fees.
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Actionable Next Steps for 2026
If you're planning to sponsor someone this year, you need to move now. The registration window usually opens in March.
- Audit your headcount. Are you "small" (25 or fewer) or "large"? This changes your bill by thousands.
- Verify the candidate's location. If they are abroad, consult a lawyer specifically about the $100,000 supplemental fee status. It could be the difference between a $7k hire and a $107k hire.
- Budget for the March 1st hike. If you plan on using Premium Processing for the 2026 cap, ensure your finance team knows the fee is jumping to $2,965.
- Get your LCA ready. The Labor Condition Application must be certified before you file the I-129. If your candidate’s salary isn't high enough for their zip code, the whole thing dies before it starts.
The cost of H1 visa sponsorship is high, but for many companies, the "cost" of not having that specific talent is even higher. Just make sure you're writing the checks to the right people.