H-1B row: USCIS say L1 and F1 visa holders exempted from $100,000 fee – rule doesn’t apply to ‘change of status’

In what could be a big relief for existing US visa holders, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) clarified in a fresh guideline Monday that existing visa holders will not have to pay the newly announced $100,000 fee for a “change of status” to H-1B visa.

The new USCIS guidelines said existing visa holders, which include international students on F-1 visas and professionals on L-1 visas, will not have to pay $100,000 when they apply for a change of status to H-1B.