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For employers

Three things to get in writing before you pay for a work visa.

US public universities hire foreign staff every year, and their fee lists for immigration lawyers are public. Three habits show up in them. An employer hiring through an EOR (employer of record: a firm that legally employs the person abroad on your company's behalf) or a law firm can look for the same three.

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The three things

Three habits that show up in public fee lists.

  1. 1

    The lawyer’s fee and the government’s fee sit on separate lines.

  2. 2

    Each type of case has a price, set before the work starts.

  3. 3

    Extra work is handled in advance: priced, or at least flagged before it is charged.

The same kind of petition, three lists

One new H-1B petition: USD 1,000, 1,785 and 3,000.

The lawyer’s fee for one new H-1B petition (the US work visa an employer sponsors), as printed on each university’s own fee list. Lawyer’s fee only: the government’s fees are extra and listed separately.

  • 2021 fee schedule

    University of Florida

    USD 1,000

    Initial petition. One line covers H-1B and TN petitions. No separate extension line.

    As printed: H-1B/TN $1,000.00.
    Source (2021 fee schedule, 14 October 2021; read 11 October 2026)

  • Live page

    Stony Brook University (SUNY)

    USD 1,785

    Initial petition. Extension: USD 1,650. Listed as legal fees. All H-1B petitions are prepared by its approved immigration law firm.

    As printed: $1,785 — Initial H-1B petition; $1,650 — H-1B extension.
    Source (live web page, no page date; read 11 October 2026)

  • fee schedule, file dated April 2026

    Winthrop University

    USD 3,000

    Initial petition. Extension: USD 2,800. Applies only when a case is sent to an outside immigration attorney.

    As printed: Attorney Fees (if case must be outsourced to attorney) $3,000 Initial, $2,800 Extension.
    Source (file dated 21 April 2026 (its footer prints 2024); read 11 October 2026)

Habit 1 of 3

The lawyer and the government are separate lines.

You can see exactly what goes to the lawyer and what goes to the state.

LEGAL FEES

Made Payable to the law firm

USD 1,000

H-1B or TN petition

GOVERNMENT FILING FEES

Made Payable to “U.S. Department of Homeland Security”

A separate line

University of Florida, 2021 fee schedule, 14 October 2021. Source (read 11 October 2026).

Why it matters: if a case fails, these two lines can be treated differently. What three providers’ published terms say about which part comes back.

Habit 2 of 3

A price for each type of case, set before the work starts.

A sample of lines from one public fee list. University of Florida, 2021 fee schedule, 14 October 2021. Legal fees only.

  • H-1B or TN work visaNew petitionUSD 1,000
  • I-140, employer’s green card petitionLabor-certification routeUSD 2,000
  • I-140, outstanding professor or researcherEB-1 routeUSD 4,750
  • I-485, green card applicationIncludes work and travel permitsUSD 2,600
  • Waiver backed by a government agencyInterested-government-agency waiverUSD 8,500

Source (2021 fee schedule, 14 October 2021; read 11 October 2026).

Habit 3 of 3

Extra work: a price, or at least a warning.

When the government asks for more evidence (an RFE, a request for evidence), answering costs extra. Two of the lists handle that in two different ways.

University of Florida · 2021 · a price

USD 1,500–2,000

The price of answering a request for more evidence on an H-1B. It is on the fee list before anyone files. As printed: H-1B RFE Response $1,500.00–$2,000.00.

Source (2021 fee schedule, 14 October 2021; read 11 October 2026)

Stony Brook University (SUNY) · live page · a notice

“your department will be notified in advance of any additional fees”
Stony Brook University (SUNY), H-1B Legal and Filing Fees. Source (live web page, no page date; read 11 October 2026)

No price is listed. The promise is notice before any extra fee is charged.

A price is firmer than a promise of notice. Both are in writing.

Questions to put to a provider

The same three things, as questions.

  1. 1

    Can you split the quote into the government’s fee, your fee and other costs?

    Habit 1: you can see where every dollar goes.

  2. 2

    What is not included, and what does each extra cost?

    Habit 2: a price per task, agreed before work starts.

  3. 3

    If the authority asks for more evidence, what will that cost, and will you tell me before you charge it?

    Habit 3: a price for extra work, or at least notice first.

Fifteen questions in all, each with a clear answer and a warning sign: the full list.

Holding a visa quote from an EOR or a law firm?

Send us the fee lines as plain text — no documents. We send back what the quote leaves out and three questions to send your provider.

Free. Facts and questions only, not legal advice.

Email us the fee lines

Sources

Every figure and quote, as published.

Lawyers' fees as printed by each university, for its own hiring departments. Three published lists, not a survey of the market. Nothing here is advice on any person’s visa.

More for employers

Three things to get in writing before you pay for a work visa — Immimaps