H1B Training Fee Eliminated from Oct 1, 2003
Posted Sep 12, 2003

It appears that the employer-paid training fee of $1,000, required for most H1B filings, will end on September 30, 2003. The law states that the Attorney General shall impose a separate fee on employers filing H1B petitions in the amount of $1,000 for filings before October 1, 2003. Exceptions to the filing fee are contained in the law. There are no provisions for this fee to continue for filings received by BCIS (or USCIS) on or after October 1, 2003. [See BCIS Now Prefers to be USCIS! in this 12 Sept 2003 edition of the MurthyBulletin and available on MurthyDotCom.]

There has been, and continues to be, some confusion on this matter, as some attorneys have stated that the fee would be returning to the pre-2000 level, which was $500. The basis for this assertion is not clear under law. The history of the provision is that the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act (ACWIA) in 1998 established a training fee of $500 for most H1B petitions. The training fee was meant to fund technical training for U.S. workers primarily in the areas of engineering, science and mathematics to provide U.S. businesses with the necessary skilled workers. In 2000, the law was amended to increase the training fee from $500 to $1,000 and to extend the provisions to apply to H1B petitions filed and received by Legacy INS (now CIS) before October 1, 2003.

Of course, should Congress see fit to do so, the provision could be changed, extended or reinstated. The decision as to what action to take on this matter is likely to be tied to efforts to increase the H1B "cap," as the two issues tend to be interconnected. More information about the cap reduction is contained in our article H1B Cap for Fiscal Year 2004, also in this 12 Sept 2003 edition of the MurthyBulletin, and available on MurthyDotCom.