Photo courtesy: AI/ Connected to IndiaEarlier, these fees were applicable only for initial H-1B and L-1 petitions or if the applicants changed jobs. The rule is likely to increase immigration sponsorship costs for technology companies; global consulting firms; IT services providers; multinational employers; and other organisations with a large number of H-1B and L-1 employees. DHS clarified that amended petitions that do not request an extension of status are exempt from the expanded fee requirement. The money was intended to support biometric entry-exit programmes that had been mandated for national security purposes. For an IT services firm managing several thousand onshore Indian engineers on active H-1B or L-1 status, the new rule converts an intermittent expense into an annual multimillion-dollar operational fee.