H-1B Costs
The H-1B petition has several fee components:
USCIS Petition Filing Fee – $460
The filing fee is required for all H-1B petitions, including new petitions, amended petitions and extensions.
USCIS Fraud Prevention Fee – $500
The fraud fee is only payable for the first H-1B petition filed for an employee through Boise State University. It is payable even if the employee has been employed on an H-1B with another employer in the US.
Premium Processing – $2,805
This is an optional fee. The premium processing fee expedites the USCIS review portion of the H-1B petition, reducing time from 7-10 months to 15 business days. Given current processing times, Center for Global Engagement (CGE) staff may recommend premium processing. Please note that this fee does not expedite other parts of the petition (University filing preparation, Department of Labor (DOL) process or Embassy visa application), which will still take 2-3 months to complete.
The department must pay the premium processing fee if it is necessary. The department cannot pass this costs onto the employee. The employee can pay the fee only if it is for reasons such as personal travel and completely unrelated to employment needs. Additionally, payment of the fee by the employee must not reduce the employee’s annual income below the prevailing wage.
Fees for Family members – $420
Where applicable, a dependent application may be necessary for H-4 dependents (spouse and children under 21). The cost for online filing of the I-539 change of status application is $420. The cost to file by paper/mail is $470. Filing by paper/mail may be more cost-effective for families with multiple dependents, as all dependents can be included on one application with one filing fee. Filing online covers only one dependent per filing, and therefore costs $420 per dependent. These fees are the responsibility of the employee.
Additional fees – vary
Additional costs include international educational document evaluation, attorney fees, and express mailing charges. CGE may recommend the use of an immigration attorney for complicated applications, as well as for all non-academic staff H-1B applications. Only attorneys pre-approved by the Office of General Counsel can represent the university in H-1B petitions. Furthermore, only the CGE can initiate H-1B applications on behalf of Boise State University, regardless of attorney use. The hiring department is responsible for any attorney fees related to an H-1B filing.
Fee Payment Responsibility
The Provost Office, through the Center for Global Engagement, funds the H-1B application costs for academic positions such as tenure-track faculty. The Provost Office may also fund faculty positions that are not tenured or tenure-track if other visa options (such as J-1 and F-1 OPT) are not possible. The Office for the Vice President for Research may fund the H-1B petitions for research faculty positions. Costs for all other applications for H-1B eligible positions are the responsibility of the hiring department. In no case can a department pass on H-1B costs to the employee. Premium Processing fees, if required, are the responsibility of the hiring department in all cases.