USCIS Expands L-1 Filing Fee to Extension Petitions by Covered Employers in Updated Policy Guidance
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) clarified in Policy Alert PA-2026-16, dated October 27, 2026, how the Public Law 114-113 fee, known as the 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee, applies to L-1 intracompany transferee petitions. The fee now applies to all L-1 petitions filed by a covered employer that are postmarked on or before September 30, 2027, unless the filing is an amended petition that does not seek an extension of the beneficiary's currently authorized L-1 status.
The change implements a Department of Homeland Security final rule published on August 10, 2026, and effective September 9, 2026, which extended the fee to extension requests. The guidance has been incorporated into Chapter 7 of Part L, Volume 2 of the USCIS Policy Manual, and applies to petitions postmarked on or after September 9, 2026.
A covered employer, under the policy, is one with 50 or more employees, counting full-time and part-time workers together, of whom 50 percent or more in the aggregate hold H-1B or L-1 status. USCIS also said the update removes specific dollar amounts from the policy text and instead directs filers to Fee Schedule G-1055 for the operative amounts.
For companies that routinely transfer managers and specialized-knowledge staff from overseas headquarters to U.S. operations, the practical effect is that each L-1 extension filing now begins with two checks: whether the company meets the 50-employee, 50-percent covered-employer test, and whether the postmark falls on or before the September 30, 2027 statutory horizon. (Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services)
Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：纽约 Jamaica 的美国公民及移民服务局申请支持中心（Application Support Center）。Wikimedia Commons 图片（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 / Photo: A USCIS Application Support Center in Jamaica, New York. Image via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
