H-1B Visa Fees in 2026: The Complete Breakdown

H-1B fees are not one number. Here is what the petition, the optional $100,000 charge (currently blocked), and the green card stages really cost in 2026.

Search "how much is H-1B visa fees" and you will not find one number. You will find a stack of separate charges that land on different people at different stages, plus a lot of outdated posts still describing a $100,000 fee as if it were a current cost of hiring. It is not. Here is the real breakdown: the H-1B petition itself carries a multi-part USCIS fee your employer is legally required to cover, optional premium processing runs $2,965, and if your case later moves toward a green card, the I-140 ($715 base) and I-485 ($1,440 by mail, $1,390 online) stages add their own separate costs.

None of those totals include the supplemental $100,000 fee. A federal court vacated it in June 2026, and it is not being collected as of this writing. We will walk through exactly what is and is not being charged, who is on the hook for each piece, and how the numbers stack up if your case eventually reaches a green card filing.

What H-1B fees actually cover

"H-1B fees" is really shorthand for several separate USCIS charges that hit at different points in a career, not one line item. The table below lays out each stage.

Two things stand out here. First, the H-1B petition (I-129) fee is deliberately left as "confirm the current total" rather than a fixed figure — it is a multi-part fee that varies by employer size and cap status, and it changes on its own schedule separate from the green card forms. Do not rely on a number you saw in an older post; pull the current figure from USCIS or your employer's immigration counsel before anyone budgets around it. Second, notice what is missing from this list entirely: the $100,000 fee. It belongs in a "currently not collected" category, not a cost line, and the next section explains why.

The $100,000 fee, corrected

This is the single most common error circulating about H-1B costs right now, so it is worth stating plainly and with dates attached.

In September 2025, a presidential proclamation attempted to impose a $100,000 supplemental fee on certain new H-1B petitions. That fee was vacated by a federal district court in Massachusetts on June 8, 2026, which held it exceeded executive authority and violated the Administrative Procedure Act and separation-of-powers principles. The government asked the First Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate the fee while the case proceeds, and the First Circuit refused on July 24, 2026.

As of August 17, 2026, the $100,000 fee is not being collected. The appeal is still active, which means the legal status could change again, but right now no employer or candidate should be told they owe this amount to file or process an H-1B petition. The proclamation's underlying restriction is also set to sunset on September 20, 2026 unless the administration extends it — another date worth tracking if you are planning a filing around that window.

If you are on OPT or STEM OPT and worried this fee somehow reaches you before you even have an H-1B, read whether the $100,000 fee applies to OPT students for the specifics of who it was ever meant to target. And because this is an active appeal, not a settled question, confirm the current status with USCIS or an immigration attorney before you rely on anything written about it today, including this article.

Who actually pays each piece

H-1B fee questions almost always come with a "wait, do I pay that?" underneath them, and the honest answer is that it depends on the specific fee. Federal regulation restricts which costs an employer can shift onto a candidate or employee, and the restrictions differ for the base filing fee, the training and fraud-prevention fees, premium processing, and green card costs — plus the rules diverge depending on whether the worker is applying from inside or outside the US.

Rather than oversimplify that here, we have a dedicated breakdown: who is legally required to pay which H-1B fees. If a recruiter, staffing firm, or employer asks you to personally cover a fee you are not sure you should be paying, that guide — and a licensed immigration attorney, not a general web search — is where to check before you send money.

What the green card stage adds

An H-1B is a work visa, not a green card, and a meaningful share of "H-1B fee" searches are really people trying to plan two to three years ahead toward permanent residency. If your employer sponsors you through PERM labor certification, or you self-petition under EB-1A or a National Interest Waiver, two more USCIS forms and fee sets come into play:

1. PERM labor certification — filed with the Department of Labor before the I-140 in employer-sponsored cases; there is no PERM filing fee, but recruitment and attorney costs apply.
2. Form I-140, Immigrant Petition — $715 base fee, plus a $300 Asylum Program Fee if you are self-petitioning or $600 if your employer is sponsoring you. Premium processing is available separately at $2,965, with a 15-business-day guarantee for most categories or 45 business days for EB-1C and EB-2 NIW petitions.
3. Form I-485, Adjustment of Status — $1,440 by mail or $1,390 if filed online, for applicants age 14 and up; $950 for a child under 14 filing alongside a parent. This fee already folds in biometrics, and if you file the I-765 (work permit) or I-131 (travel document) at the same time as the I-485, there is no separate fee for either. There is no premium processing option for the I-485 itself, and total processing time varies widely by category and field office — commonly cited ranges run from roughly 9 months up to well over three years, so check current USCIS processing times for your service center rather than assuming a fixed timeline.

For the line-by-line version of the I-485 numbers, including the family-filing math if a spouse or children are adjusting status alongside you, see our I-485 filing fees breakdown.

The fee timeline from lottery to green card

Laid out in the order most candidates actually encounter them:

1. H-1B cap registration — employer registers you (or you register yourself if cap-exempt filing isn't needed) during the annual window; a small per-registration fee applies.
2. I-129 petition filed — if selected, your employer files the H-1B petition with its multi-part fee; premium processing is optional here if you need a fast answer.
3. Consular stamping (if applicable) — a separate State Department application fee applies at your visa interview; this is charged by the Department of State, not USCIS, and is outside the scope of the USCIS fees in this article.
4. H-1B transfers, if you change employers — each new employer files a fresh I-129 with its own fee; see our breakdown of what an H-1B transfer actually costs if a move is on your radar.
5. PERM and I-140 — your employer (or you, if self-petitioning) begins the green card process; the $715 base fee plus Asylum Program Fee applies at this stage.
6. I-485 adjustment of status — filed once your priority date is current under the Visa Bulletin, or concurrently with the I-140 for categories where that is available; this carries its own separate $1,440/$1,390 fee.

Each step is a distinct filing with its own fee and its own timeline, which is exactly why "how much is H-1B" resists a single answer — the honest response is always "which stage are you asking about."

Common mistakes

• Budgeting only for the H-1B petition and forgetting the green card stage. The I-140 and I-485 fees are real, separate costs that arrive years later, not add-ons to the H-1B filing.
• Assuming the $100,000 fee currently applies to your case. It was vacated on June 8, 2026, and the First Circuit declined to restore it on July 24, 2026. Nobody should be charging you this fee right now, though the appeal is unresolved, so keep checking the status.
• Treating premium processing as mandatory. It is optional, and it buys speed and certainty, not a better outcome. Decide based on your actual timeline, not habit.
• Not confirming the current fee schedule before filing. USCIS fees change on their own cycle — premium processing jumped to $2,965 on March 1, 2026 — so a number from a year-old article or forum post may already be stale.
• Paying a fee you may not legally owe. Some H-1B costs are restricted from being passed to the candidate or employee by regulation. Check who is legally required to pay which fees before assuming any invoice from an employer or agency is standard practice.

Frequently asked questions

How much are H-1B visa fees in 2026? There is no single number. The H-1B petition (Form I-129) carries a multi-part USCIS fee that your employer is legally required to cover, and its exact total depends on employer size and petition type, so confirm it on the current USCIS fee schedule before filing. Optional premium processing (Form I-907) is $2,965 as of March 1, 2026. If your case later moves toward a green card, the I-140 adds $715 plus an Asylum Program Fee, and the I-485 adjustment of status adds $1,440 by mail or $1,390 online.

What is the new H-1B visa fee everyone was talking about in 2025? A September 2025 proclamation attempted to impose a $100,000 supplemental fee on certain new H-1B petitions. A federal district court in Massachusetts vacated that proclamation on June 8, 2026, finding it exceeded executive authority, and the First Circuit refused to reinstate it on July 24, 2026. As of August 17, 2026 the fee is not being collected, though the appeal is still pending, so confirm the current status with USCIS or an immigration attorney before budgeting around it.

Who is legally responsible for paying H-1B visa fees, the employer or the employee? Federal regulation restricts which H-1B costs an employer can pass on to a candidate or employee, and the rules differ by fee type and by whether the worker is inside or outside the US. This is a nuanced area worth reading in detail through our guide on who is legally required to pay H-1B fees rather than assuming either party automatically covers everything.

How much do green card fees add on top of the H-1B fees? Plan for two more USCIS filings once the green card process starts. The I-140 immigrant petition costs $715 plus a $300 Asylum Program Fee for self-petitioners or $600 for employer-sponsored cases, with optional premium processing at $2,965. The I-485 adjustment of status costs $1,440 by mail or $1,390 online for applicants 14 and older, or $950 for a child under 14 filing with a parent, and that fee already includes biometrics with no separate charge for a concurrently filed I-765 or I-131.

Is H-1B premium processing worth paying for? It depends on how much certainty you need and when. Premium processing (Form I-907) costs $2,965 as of March 1, 2026 and guarantees USCIS will take action — an approval, a denial, or a Request for Evidence — within 15 business days for most categories, or 45 business days for EB-1C and EB-2 NIW petitions. It buys speed and predictability, not a better outcome, so weigh it against your actual timeline pressure rather than treating it as automatic.

Every dollar figure above is a USCIS filing fee as of August 2026 — actual figures move, litigation status can change, and your own receipt notice always governs your specific case. If you want help mapping your own H-1B and green card timeline against a real budget, F1Jobs can walk through it with you.