According to the Department of Labor, the fees associated with the H-1B petition are considered to be a business expense and payment of these fees are an employer obligation. If a scholar pays any of the fees associated with the H-1B, we must consider this a deduction from wages and could result in failure to pay the prevailing wage. If the scholar’s salary falls below the minimum prevailing wage requirement we are not able to file the H-1B.
- $500 for their Anti-Fraud Fee. (Not needed for Extension Requests of H-1Bs already sponsored by Brown)
- $460 for the application fee.
- If employee's dependents (spouse and unmarried children under age 21) are in the U.S. and will be changing their immigration status to H-4, the Form I-539 as well as copies of all immigration documents need to accompany the following application fee: (this fee is not considered an employer obligation) $470.
- If requesting expedited processing, $2,805 for Premium Processing.
As of September 30th, 2025, the U.S. Government will not longer accept payments in the form of paper checks. OISSS is transitioning over to paying fees electronically using a purchasing card and will redirect all charges to hiring departments using the work tags provided in the H-1B Request Form for each case.
Explanation of the Anti-Fraud Fee
On December 8, 2004, President Bush signed the Fiscal Year Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 4818) into law. This law incorporates the “H-1B Visa Reform Act of 2004” which contains several provisions affecting the H-1B specialty worker category.
While there are several provisions affecting how the Office of International Student & Scholar Services (OISSS) processes H-1B applications, the key provision affecting Brown applicants as of March 8, 2005 is that an additional $500 fee will have to accompany applications for initial H-1B status and requests to transfer H-1B status. Revenue from this fee is to be shared by the US Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, and Department of Labor to cover the costs of investigating employer fraud.
Please note that the $500 fee is considered by this law to be an employer’s obligation; it may not be paid by the employee.