USCIS Issuing RFE’s on H-1 and L-1 Cases Subject to PL 111-230 Fee Increase
As previously reported last month in our blog post, President Obama signed into law Public Law 111-230 on August 13, 2010. The law requires the submission of an additional fee of $2,000 for certain H-1B petitions and $2,250 for certain L-1A and L-1B petitions postmarked on or after Aug. 14, 2010, and will remain in effect through Sept. 30, 2014. These additional fees apply to petitioners who employ 50 or more employees in the United States with more than 50 percent of its employees in the United States in H-1B or L (including L-1A, L-1B and L-2) nonimmigrant status.
In our blog post referenced in the above link, USCIS is starting to issue RFE’s to employers who are subject to the new public law fees.
If the employer is subject to P.L. 111-230, the employer should return the RFE along with a statement explaining why it is subject to the fee and include a check for the relevant amount (either $2,000 or $2,250 depending on the type of nonimmigrant petition). If the employer is not subject to P.L. 111-230, the employer may sign an attestation which states why the employer is not subject to the law. The attestation should be placed on the employer’s letterhead, be signed and dated by the employer, and should state:
“[Name of employer] has [number] employees in the United States, of whom fewer than [insert number] are H-1B or L nonimmigrants. As such, [name of employer] is not subject to the additional fees required under PL 111-230.”
Employers should be careful to include only the number of employees in the USA and not the world-wide number of employees in the calculation. This number may differ from the “number of employees” question asked on Form I-129, which may include a world-wide employee figure.
For H-1B and L-1 petitions filed on or after August 14, 2010, we would advise that employers draft an addendum to the Form I-129 Data Collection Supplement, which explains why they are not subject to P.L. 111-230. It has also been recommended that you indicate same on the H-1B cover letter whether or not the petition is subject to P.L. 111-230.
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