H-1B Visa Fees – Policies & Procedures for Sponsored Projects
Responsible Offices: Sponsored Projects Accounting/Office of Sponsored Research Services
Effective Date: updated October 2023
PDF version: H-1B Visa Fees Policies and Procedures for Sponsored Projects
Sponsored Projects Accounting (SPA) and the Office of Sponsored Research Services (OSRS) have developed a set of policies and procedures for H-1B visa fees associated with sponsored projects. All University personnel involved with the financial management of sponsored projects should utilize these policies and procedures for the fees associated with the H-1B visa. For more information regarding the H-1B visa please see the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS).
Policy
The fees associated with petitioning an H-1B visa are considered institutional costs and must be paid by the academic department employing the individual, per University policy noted above. The standard filing fee (currently $460) and the fraud prevention fee (currently $500) may be budgeted/charged as a direct cost to a sponsored project and/or other department accounts. The premium processing fee (currently $1,225) is not considered a reasonable cost on a sponsored project, therefore, it must be paid from other departmental funding sources.
Procedures
Proposal Budgets
The Principal Investigator (PI) may include expected H-1B fees, as defined above, in the proposal budget as a direct cost. These costs are limited to the individuals who are expected to work on the project and in the same proportion as the salary requested. Accordingly, if 20% of Technician A’s salary is listed in the proposal budget, then 20% of the H-1B visa fees incurred on this individual’s behalf may also be included in the budget.
The H-1B visa fees should normally be included in the “Other Expenses” proposal budget category and is to be included in the Modified Total Direct Cost (MTDC) base.
Charging a Sponsored Project
H-1B visa fees for individuals who have been designated by the Principal Investigator to work on the sponsored project may be charged to the corresponding fund(s) or cost sharing accounts. The fees allocated to the project must be in the same proportion as the amount of salary support for that individual. Accordingly, if 20% of Technician A’s salary is charged to the project, then 20% of the H-1B visa fees may also be charged/allocated to the project.
These fees should be paid via Expense Report using expense item Immigration Fees.