On Sept. 30, Congress failed to renew Public Law 111-230 (the 50/50 fee). Enacted in August 2010, the 50/50 fee mandated companies with more than 50 employees based in the United States and more than 50 percent of workers employed under a nonimmigrant visa status to pay an additional fee — $2,000 for H-1B and $2,250 for L-1 applicants.

Information technology providers based in India, which send a high number of H-1B workers to the United States, were largely impacted by this fee.

While the 50/50 fee is no longer necessary, H-1B and L-1 applicants are still required to pay the base, Fraud Prevention and Detection, and American Competitive and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 fees, when applicable.

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