New US Immigration Rule Raises 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee Costs for Indian H-1B and L-1 Professionals and Covered Employers

USCIS began accepting only the 09/09/26 edition of Form I-129 on November 9, while a Department of Homeland Security rule already requires certain employers to pay the biometric fee for qualifying H-1B and L-1 extensions. The rule is effective September 9, 2026.

The change applies to petitioning employers that meet federal workforce tests, not to every employer or every visa holder. Indian professionals are among the workers whose sponsors may face the charge, but nationality does not determine whether it applies.

The 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee was already generally required for initial petitions and changes of employer. The rule extended its reach to covered employers’ requests to continue a worker’s stay with the same employer.

The Federal Register published the final rule, 91 FR 51360, on August 10, 2026. The fee applies to petitions postmarked or filed through September 30, 2027.

The extension rule widens an existing fee

The fee did not begin with this change. DHS expanded the situations in which it must be paid, adding qualifying extensions to initial and change-of-employer petitions that were already generally covered.

The fee supports biometric entry-exit data systems. DHS said it revised its interpretation of the law to require qualifying employers to pay for the covered petitions.

The H-1B amount is listed, but the L-1 figure is not established in the rule discussion

The DHS rule sets the fee at $4,000 for H-1B petitions. The Federal Register discussion of the rule does not establish a dollar amount for L-1 petitions, so the cited $4,500 figure should not be treated as confirmed by that discussion.

The rule text also mentions a commenter’s suggestion to impose $4,000 fees on Family and Diversity Visa Lottery cases. That proposal concerned different visa categories; it does not establish the amount owed for an L-1 petition.

A covered employer, rather than the sponsored worker, pays the required petition fee.

Only employers meeting both workforce tests are covered

An employer must meet both conditions:

• It has 50 or more U.S. employees. Part-time staff count.
• More than half of its U.S. workforce holds H-1B, L-1A or L-1B status.

An employer that falls short of either test is outside the fee’s scope. The test is distinct from H-1B dependency rules.

An amended petition is exempt when it does not ask to extend the worker’s current stay. Employers should check the petition type as well as their workforce numbers before including the charge.

DHS says the rule does not single out Indian workers

Commenters raised concerns that added employer costs could affect Indian-born applicants, particularly amid long green-card waits, and could influence employers’ willingness to hire. Those concerns do not make the fee specific to India.

DHS treated green-card backlogs as outside this rulemaking. H-1B and L-1 are temporary nonimmigrant classifications; the fee attaches to qualifying employer petitions, not a worker’s nationality.

Petitioners now need the revised I-129 edition

USCIS’s edition cutoff began November 9, 2026.

DHS says the fee applies to petitions postmarked or filed through September 30, 2027. The edition requirement and the fee trigger are separate checks: the form switch began November 9, while the fee rule applies based on the petition’s filing or postmark date.