H-1B Visa Cost Calculator — Full USCIS Fee Breakdown (2026)
An H-1B petition involves several separate government fees that stack up — and 2026 has brought a wave of changes, including a new wage-weighted lottery, a higher premium processing fee, and a disputed $100,000 supplemental fee that has been blocked, reinstated, and challenged in court multiple times this year. This calculator totals the standard, undisputed fees, with the $100K fee as an optional toggle so you can see both scenarios.
Government filing fees only — excludes attorney fees, which typically add several thousand dollars more. Figures reflect the current published USCIS fee schedule; always confirm on uscis.gov before filing.
Reflects the published USCIS fee schedule as of July 2026, excluding attorney fees. The $100,000 supplemental fee's legal status is actively being litigated — verify the current status at uscis.gov before relying on either scenario.
How to use this tool
- Choose the filing type — a brand-new cap-subject petition pays the most fees (including lottery registration); extensions pay the fewest.
- Select the employer's size — the ACWIA training fee and Asylum Program Fee both roughly double for employers with 26 or more full-time staff.
- Add premium processing if a faster (~15 business day) decision is needed.
- Toggle the disputed $100,000 fee on to see the worst-case total — but check uscis.gov first, since its legal status has changed multiple times in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is the $100,000 H-1B fee actually being charged right now?
It's genuinely unsettled — the fee (from a 2025 presidential proclamation, aimed at new petitions for beneficiaries outside the US) has been blocked by a federal court, then the block was reversed, with further appeals ongoing as of July 2026. Check uscis.gov directly for the fee's current legal status before assuming it applies or doesn't.
Who actually pays these fees — the employer or the employee?
By regulation, the employer must pay the ACWIA training fee, the Fraud Prevention & Detection fee, and the Asylum Program Fee — these cannot legally be passed to the employee. The base filing fee and premium processing are also typically paid by the employer in practice, even though the rule is less strict there.
What is the ACWIA training fee for?
It funds US worker training and scholarship programs and applies to new H-1B petitions and changes of employer (not extensions with the same employer). It's $750 for employers with 1-25 full-time employees and $1,500 for employers with 26 or more.
Does this include attorney fees?
No — this tool only totals government filing fees. Attorney fees for H-1B petitions commonly range from roughly $1,500 to $5,000+ depending on the firm and complexity, on top of everything shown here.
Why did premium processing get more expensive?
USCIS raised the premium processing fee to $2,965 as of March 2026, part of a broader round of USCIS fee increases across several visa categories that year.