E-1 costs: what Washington charges, and what comes on top

When people ask what the E-1 costs, they usually want one number. The honest answer has two parts. The government fees are modest and precisely known: for most European applicants it comes to $315 per person. What really makes the E-1 expensive or affordable is the route: where you file, whether you change status from inside the US, how many family members come along and how much work goes into the application package. This page lists every government fee with its source, works them out for typical families and shows the costs that come on top. Prices for our own services are on the relevant service pages.

1Two routes, two fee schedules

The E-1 has two procedures, each with its own fee schedule. If you live outside the US, you apply for the visa at a consulate and pay the State Department's fees. If you are already in the US in valid status, you can change status with USCIS, the immigration agency, and pay its fees instead. The two schedules are completely separate, and the USCIS fees are considerably higher.

For almost every reader in Europe, the consulate is the normal route. You'll find how it works under Applying for the E-1. The USCIS fees still matter to you, though: once you extend your status inside the US, or if something material changes in your company.

2At the consulate: the application fee

The State Department charges a processing fee, the so-called MRV fee, on every nonimmigrant visa application. For E visas it is $315. That is more than a visitor visa at $185, and more than petition-based visas such as the L-1 at $205. Until May 2023 the E visa cost $205; the US Embassy announced the increase at the time.

The fee is charged per applicant. For a family, that means you, your spouse and every child who gets their own visa. It is paid before the appointment, and the US Embassy states clearly that visa fees are neither refundable nor transferable. If your application is refused, the money is gone. That's one more reason to have a package that holds up the first time.

3The reciprocity fee: why some nationals pay more

On top of the application fee, a second fee may be charged when the visa is issued: the reciprocity fee. The State Department also calls it the visa issuance fee, and its reciprocity tables set out, for every country and visa category, whether it applies, how many entries the visa allows and how long it is valid.

For the E-1, it looks like this: Germans and Austrians pay no reciprocity fee and receive a visa valid for up to 60 months. Swiss citizens pay $125 and receive a visa valid for up to 48 months. All three can enter as often as they like. Check the reciprocity table for your own country.

In mixed-nationality families, each person's citizenship counts. If your spouse is a citizen of a treaty country, the table for their own country applies. If they come from a country without a treaty, the table for your country applies. So if one child is Swiss and the other German, only the Swiss child pays the reciprocity fee.

4The Visa Integrity Fee

With the budget law Public Law 119-21, Congress introduced another fee: the Visa Integrity Fee. The law requires it from everyone issued a nonimmigrant visa, charged at issuance on top of all other fees. For fiscal year 2025 it sets at least $250, adjusted for inflation every year after that. It cannot be waived or reduced. Under certain conditions the law provides for a refund, for example if you complied with all visa conditions and left on time, or obtained an extension or a green card.

On implementation, the Department of Homeland Security stated in the Federal Register in July 2025 that the fee requires coordination between agencies and will be implemented in a later publication. Whether it is charged at your appointment, and how much, is shown in the State Department's fee overview. Check it before you set your budget. Our worked examples below do not include this fee.

5Change of status and extensions with USCIS

If you are in the US and change to E-1 status, or extend it there, you pay under the USCIS fee schedule, Form G-1055. The base fee for Form I-129 in the E-1 category is $1,015 on paper and $965 online. For small employers and nonprofits it is halved to $510. A small employer has no more than 25 full-time employees in the US, including affiliates and subsidiaries. So if you have a large parent company, you don't qualify, even if the US company itself is small.

Every I-129 also carries the Asylum Program Fee: $600 for regular petitioners, $300 for small employers, nothing for nonprofits. A spouse and children changing or extending status with you in the US file Form I-539, at $470 on paper or $420 online.

Two items are optional. Premium Processing costs $2,965 and obliges USCIS to decide an E-1 case, or request evidence, within 15 business days. And a work permit card for your spouse costs $520 on paper but isn't needed: spouses in E-1S status are authorized to work by virtue of their status, and Form I-94 marked E-1S is sufficient proof.

6Worked examples for families

The table below works out the government fees for a family with two children. Three things stand out. First, the consular route is by far the cheapest for nationals who pay no reciprocity fee. Second, Swiss families pay noticeably more because of the reciprocity fee, and still get a visa that expires sooner. Third, a change of status in the US only gets really expensive with Premium Processing, and then it quickly runs to more than three times the consular route.

The figures assume paper filing. Online, most USCIS forms are cheaper, often by $50. Fees under Public Law 119-21 change every year, and USCIS publishes its fee schedule in new editions. What counts is the edition in force on the day you file.

7Fees you can avoid

You can save on a few things without cutting corners on the application:

• Choose the consular route where you can. If you live in Europe, you pay only the application fee at the consulate (plus any reciprocity fee for your country). A change of status in the US costs many times more and still doesn't give you a visa for your next trip.
• File online. For many USCIS forms, it saves money.
• Use Premium Processing only when time demands it. The fee buys speed, not a better decision.
• Skip the work permit card nobody needs. Your spouse can work without it.
• Plan material changes. A merger, an acquisition or the sale of the division you work in requires a new I-129, with a fee. Even just asking USCIS whether a change is material means filing an I-129, with a fee. Plan restructurings with the visa in mind and you'll rarely pay twice.

8Costs beyond the fees

With the E-1, government fees are the smaller part. The bigger items come from what the application requires:

• The US company. Formation, Registered Agent, annual state fees and a US bank account. What that costs in each state is set out under US company formation.
• Bookkeeping and tax returns. The consulate wants to see numbers: for existing businesses, the State Department's checklist lists the company's US tax returns and financial statements. For a corporation, we prepare the corporate tax return.
• The application package. Cover letter, business plan, trade summary, translations of documents from home and preparation by the attorneys on the firm's team. This is the item that depends most on your case.
• The trip to the interview. To the US embassy or consulate that handles your country, often with the whole family.

Know these costs early and you can decide with confidence whether the E-1 is the right route or whether another visa gets you there for less. If you have a company at home that can send you over, look at the L-1 too; if you want to invest in the US, look at the E-2.

9What employees cost

If you later bring employees to the US on an E-1, each employee counts as an applicant in their own right. At the consulate they pay the $315 application fee, Swiss citizens also pay the reciprocity fee, and their family pays the same amounts per person. Each employee needs their own DS-156E, but not a separate company review: once your company is registered with the consulate, their application relies on that review.

It gets expensive when an employee changes status inside the US or their position changes substantially. The company then files an I-129 with its fee and the Asylum Program Fee, plus an I-539 for their family. Switching to a new employer without approval is not a cost issue but a status violation. So aligning your staffing plans with the visa saves you more than fees. How the process works for your team is explained under E-1 for employees.

10When fees come up again

The E-1 is not a visa you pay for once. Every new visa at the consulate costs the application fee again, and Swiss citizens pay the reciprocity fee again with every issuance. Each entry sets your stay for a maximum of two years; if you extend inside the US instead of leaving, you pay the USCIS fees for the I-129 and I-539. How validity, stay and extension fit together is explained in E-1 validity, extension and family.

If you later go for a green card, that path has its own fee schedule. You will find the amounts under From E-1 to green card. For the full picture of the visa, see the guide to the E-1 treaty trader visa.

In short

• At the consulate, every applicant pays a $315 application fee; Swiss citizens also pay a $125 reciprocity fee on issuance.
• The law also provides for a Visa Integrity Fee of at least $250 on issuance; whether it applies is shown in the State Department's fee schedule.
• A change of status inside the US costs most companies between $810 and $1,615 with the I-129 and Asylum Program Fee; the family pays another $470 on the I-539.
• Premium Processing costs $2,965 and is optional; so is the work permit card for your spouse.
• Visa fees are not refunded, not even if your application is refused.

How we help you

• Visa Roadmap for Company FormationFormation and visa in one plan, so the company carries the visa.
• Visa RoadmapIn writing: which visa fits you and your family, prepared with the immigration attorney on the firm's team.
• Visa and Green Card ConsultationWhich route to the USA fits you, settled in one conversation.
• US Company FormationLLC, Inc or LP in Delaware, Florida, California, New York, Texas or Wyoming.
• Corporation tax returnForm 1120 and Form 5472 for your US corporation.