Visa Fee Calculator
Look up US visa and petition fees by visa type and employer size, including premium processing.
By Konstantin Iakovlev · Updated September 2026 · Source: USCIS — Form G-1055 Fee Schedule
Filing Fee
$3,380.00
Estimated Total
$10,345.00
Fee Breakdown
| I-129 base filing fee | $780.00 |
| Asylum Program Fee | $600.00 |
| Fraud Prevention & Detection Fee | $500.00 |
| ACWIA (training) fee | $1,500.00 |
| USCIS Filing Fee | $3,380.00 |
| Premium Processing (optional) | $2,965.00 |
| Attorney Estimate | $4,000.00 |
| Estimated Total | $10,345.00 |
Base fees shown are for paper filing; H-1B, E and TN petitions cost $50 less online, and the small employer and nonprofit rates are the same either way. A small employer has 25 or fewer full-time-equivalent US employees including affiliates and subsidiaries; a nonprofit is an educational institution, a 501(c)(3), or a governmental research organization (8 CFR 106.1).
Excludes the $215 electronic registration fee (paid per beneficiary before filing) and, for petitioners with 50 or more US employees where more than half hold H-1B or L-1 status, an extra $4,000 on petitions filed on or before September 30, 2027 (Public Law 114-113). A presidential proclamation adds a $100,000 fee to certain H-1B petitions unless an exception is granted. The ACWIA exemption shown for nonprofits covers higher-education institutions, nonprofits related to or affiliated with them, and nonprofit or governmental research organizations; a 501(c)(3) outside those categories pays the reduced base fee but still owes ACWIA.
Use the Visa Fee Calculator above to calculate your results. Enter your values and see instant results — all calculations run in your browser.
Disclaimer: This calculator is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, financial, or legal advice. Results are estimates based on the information you provide and current rates. Always consult a qualified tax professional or financial advisor for advice specific to your situation.
How It Works
US visa costs are easy to underestimate because the headline filing fee is rarely the whole story. This estimator prices a petition by visa category, adding the USCIS filing fees that stack on top of the base charge, optional premium processing, and a typical attorney fee, so you can budget the full amount up front instead of discovering the extras midway.
Behind the result is the USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055). The H-1B is the category where the stacking matters most: a regular petitioner pays the $780 Form I-129 base fee, a $600 Asylum Program Fee, a $500 Fraud Prevention and Detection fee and a $1,500 ACWIA training fee, which is $3,380 before anything optional. Employers with 25 or fewer full-time employees pay a reduced $460 base fee, $300 for the Asylum Program Fee and $750 for ACWIA, which brings the filing subtotal to $2,010. A nonprofit petitioner pays the same $460 base and no Asylum Program Fee at all; universities, affiliated nonprofits and nonprofit research organizations are also exempt from the ACWIA fee under INA 214(c)(9)(A), which is the $960 total the calculator shows for that tier. Every other I-129 category stacks the same Asylum Program Fee on its own base: $1,385 plus $600 and a $500 fraud fee for an L petition, $1,055 plus $600 for an O-1, and $1,015 plus $600 for an E-2 or a TN. Only a B-1/B-2, F-1 or J-1 applicant escapes the petition fees entirely, paying just the $185 consular application fee.
Three costs sit outside this estimate, and each can dwarf it. Employers with 50 or more US staff, more than half of them in H-1B or L status, owe an extra $4,000 per H-1B petition under Pub. L. 114-113 for petitions filed on or before September 30, 2027, and $4,500 on an L-1. A presidential proclamation adds a $100,000 fee on certain H-1B petitions unless an exception is granted, paid through pay.gov before filing. And consular processing carries its own charges: the machine-readable visa application fee and any reciprocity fee tied to your country of citizenship, both paid to the Department of State rather than USCIS. Confirm every amount on the official USCIS and State Department pages before you pay.
Example: Indian National Applying for an H1B Visa in 2026
- 1 Step 1: Select the visa type and employer size. * Visa type: H-1B (Specialty Occupation) * Petitioner type: 26 or more employees, so the regular petitioner rates apply
- 2 Step 2: Add the USCIS filing fees. * Form I-129 base filing fee: $780 * Asylum Program Fee: $600 * Fraud Prevention and Detection fee: $500 * ACWIA training fee: $1,500 * Filing subtotal: $3,380
- 3 Step 3: Add the optional items. * Premium processing (15 business days): $2,965, the same fee that covers E-1, E-2, E-3, H-3, L-1, O, P, Q and TN petitions * Typical attorney fee for an H-1B petition: $4,000 * Estimated total: $3,380 + $2,965 + $4,000 = $10,345
- 4 Step 4: Context. * A small employer with 25 or fewer full-time staff pays a $460 base fee, $300 for the Asylum Program Fee and $750 for ACWIA, cutting the filing subtotal by $1,370 to $2,010; a nonprofit petitioner exempt from the ACWIA fee pays $960. * The employer pays these petition fees, not the worker. If the worker then applies at a consulate abroad, the machine-readable visa fee and any reciprocity fee for their nationality come on top and are paid to the Department of State.
Source: USCIS — Form G-1055 Fee Schedule · Last updated: September 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a US tourist visa cost?
What is the visa reciprocity fee?
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