L-1 costs: what America charges you for the transfer

Ask what an L-1 costs and you usually get a single number: the filing fee for Form I-129. That is only the first line. On top come extra fees that depend on the size of your company, on whether it is a first filing or an extension, and on how many people are coming with you. Here you will find every fee a government agency charges for L-1 and L-2, who pays it and what it adds up to. All amounts are government fees. What an attorney or an advisory firm charges is not covered here, and neither is what we charge: you will find that on our service pages.

1Who pays what: the employer at USCIS, each person at the consulate

An L-1 comes about in two steps, and each has its own till. In step one, your US employer files the petition with the immigration agency USCIS on Form I-129. All fees for this step are paid by the petitioner, meaning the US company, at filing. If a fee is missing or the amount is wrong, USCIS rejects the petition (Form G-1055).

In step two, with the approval in hand, you apply for the visa at the US consulate in your home country. Here every person who needs a visa pays the application fee individually, spouses and children included. The exception is the blanket approval for large corporations: with Blanket L, the consulate also collects part of the employer fees.

If you are starting out with a new US subsidiary, you also pay for the company itself: formation, state registration, and later payroll and taxes. These are not visa fees, but without them there is no visa. More on this in the last section.

2The USCIS petition fees

The base fee for an L petition is $1,385 if your employer files on paper and $1,335 online. L-1A, L-1B and blanket petitions can be filed online (USCIS, Forms Available to File Online). Small employers and nonprofits pay $695, on paper or online.

A small employer is one with no more than 25 full-time employees in the US, counting affiliates and subsidiaries (8 CFR 106.1(f)). What counts is the headcount in the US, not the parent company's workforce at home. A young US subsidiary of a mid-sized European company with 400 staff back home is therefore often a small employer in the eyes of USCIS. If the group already has other companies in the US, their employees count too.

Every I-129 also carries the Asylum Program Fee, which USCIS uses to fund the asylum program. It is $600, $300 for small employers and nothing for nonprofits. There is no online discount on it (8 CFR 106.2). For a small US subsidiary, the bill therefore starts at $995, and for everyone else at $1,935 online or $1,985 on paper, before a single extra fee applies.

The table shows all petition fees at a glance. Whether the two larger items are added is covered in the next section.

3Fraud prevention and 4,500 dollars: when the extra fees apply

The $500 Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee comes from the L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2004. USCIS charges it when your employer requests L status for you for the first time, or when it wants to employ you while you work for a different petitioner. Under a blanket approval, it applies when you are to continue working at a different company than before. An extension with the same employer does not trigger it. It is not refunded, not even if the petition is denied (Form G-1055).

At $4,500, the second extra fee is the most expensive, and it hits only a few. It stems from the appropriations act Pub. L. 114-113 and applies to employers with at least 50 people in the US, more than half of whom work on H-1B, L-1A or L-1B. It covers petitions filed through September 30, 2027. Since September 9, 2026, under a final rule from the Department of Homeland Security, covered employers pay it on all L-1 petitions, including extensions with the same employer. The only exception is an amended petition that does not extend the stay (USCIS, L-1A Intracompany Transferee; 8 CFR 106.2).

For the typical European subsidiary in the US, the $4,500 fee is irrelevant: if you have ten employees and transfer one of them, you are nowhere near half. It mainly concerns companies whose US workforce consists largely of transferees. Where it does apply, it cannot be waived and is not refunded, just like the $500.

4Premium processing: 2,965 dollars for a fast answer

With Form I-907, your employer buys speed. For $2,965, USCIS commits to acting on L-1A, L-1B and blanket petitions within 15 business days: approving, denying or requesting more evidence (USCIS, How Do I Request Premium Processing). The fee is paid separately from the other fees and can also be requested later for a pending petition.

What premium processing does not buy is the outcome. A Request for Evidence arrives just the same, only sooner. Between a quarter and almost a third of all L-1 petitions get one; the reasons and how to respond are covered in the guide L-1 denied or RFE. Is the fee worth it? If a project launch, a lease or a school year hinges on a date, usually yes. How long it takes without it is explained in the guide to processing times.

There is no premium processing for your family's I-539. But if you file it together with the petition, USCIS processes it right after the expedited petition.

5At the consulate: visa fee, Blanket L and what else may come

For every L visa, the State Department charges an application fee of $205 per person, the same for L-1 and L-2 (22 CFR 22.1, item 21). A family of four therefore pays $820. The fee is paid before the appointment and is not refunded, even if the visa is not issued. Whether a reciprocity fee is added at issuance for your nationality depends on the State Department's reciprocity table for your country; check it before your appointment.

With Blanket L, the applicant also pays the $500 fraud prevention fee at the consulate on the employer's behalf, for every new I-129S and whether or not the visa is issued. If the employer is a covered employer under the 50 percent rule, another $4,500 is due at the consulate; spouses and children on L-2 do not pay this fee (9 FAM 402.12-7(I)). If you need an appointment at short notice, you can request an expedited one; the fee schedule sets $750 per person for this (22 CFR 22.1, item 26).

5.1The Visa Integrity Fee

The appropriations act of July 4, 2025 mandates a Visa Integrity Fee: at least $250 for every nonimmigrant visa issued, adjusted annually for inflation, and neither waivable nor reducible. It can be refunded under certain conditions, for example if you have complied with all conditions and have your status extended while the visa is valid (8 U.S.C. 1806). As of October 22, 2026, it does not appear in the State Department's fee schedule. Check whether it will be charged at your appointment, and how much, before paying the visa fee.

6Your family: L-2, I-539 and the optional work permit card

Spouses and unmarried children under 21 come on the L-2 visa. If they apply abroad, each pays the $205 visa fee. If they are already in the US and change to L-2 status or extend it, they use Form I-539: $470 on paper, $420 online. Spouses and children can be listed as co-applicants on a single I-539; each additional person completes Form I-539A (Form I-539 Instructions).

One expense many people budget for falls away: spouses on L-2 may work without applying for a work permit. The I-94 marked L-2S is enough proof for an employer. If you still want an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), say as a handy ID, you apply with Form I-765 for $520 on paper or $470 online (USCIS, L-1A Intracompany Transferee; Form G-1055).

7Four worked examples

The table works through four typical cases, counting government fees only. The first is the classic start: a young US subsidiary with a handful of employees, a manager setting up the new office, and a family coming along. Here the fees add up to $5,280, of which $2,965 is Premium Processing. Without the speed-up, it comes to $2,315.

With a new office, an extension follows after one year, because the first approval is valid for one year at most. Budget for it from the start: for a small subsidiary, at least $995 for the petition and Asylum Fee, plus I-539 if your family is in the country. After that, extensions come in steps of up to two years until the maximum stay is reached; the deadlines involved are explained in the guide to L-1 validity. If you are only just setting up the subsidiary, the guide to the new office shows the right order of steps.

8Costs beyond the fees

Government fees are the part of the bill you can know precisely in advance. Alongside them are costs that depend on your case. First, the US company: formation, registration and ongoing state fees, and for a new office also the business premises USCIS wants to see secured before approval. How to set up the company is explained on our page on US company formation. Second, the salary and everything tied to it: payroll, payroll tax and filings, which USCIS will want evidence of at extension time; our Payroll service covers this. Third, translations of documents from home, such as company register extracts, employment contracts or financial statements.

Fourth, the attorney fee for the petition. It depends on the scope of the case, and government fees are never included. With any quote, get it in writing which fees come on top and how much they are. If you plan a green card later, factor that in too: the fees for the EB-1C petition are in the guide to EB-1C costs. For an overview of the whole visa, see the L-1 guide.

In short

• The USCIS petition costs $1,385 on paper or $1,335 online, and $695 for small employers with up to 25 full-time employees in the US. The Asylum Program Fee of $600 or $300 always comes on top.
• Initial petitions and changes of employer carry a $500 fraud prevention fee. Employers with at least 50 employees in the US, more than half of them on H-1B or L, pay an extra $4,500, extensions included.
• Premium Processing costs $2,965 and obliges USCIS to act within 15 business days. It says nothing about the outcome.
• At the consulate, every person pays $205 for the visa application, including family members on L-2.
• Across the four examples, a transfer with family runs between $1,415 and $6,485 in government fees, excluding attorney, formation and translations.

How we help you

• Visa RoadmapIn writing: which visa fits you and your family, prepared with the immigration attorney on the firm's team.
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• US Company FormationLLC, Inc or LP in Delaware, Florida, California, New York, Texas or Wyoming.
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