Published by: The Times of India - October 21, 2025
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/uscis-exempts-f-1-to-h-1b-…
Quotes and Excerpts from Rajiv in the article:
Rajiv S. Khanna, managing attorney at Immigration.com points out that, “Status determinations are often complex and sometimes arbitrary. Months later, USCIS can find a status violation that was not anticipated, resulting in a $ 100,000 bill!”
The guidance note states that payment of the $100,000 fee must be made on the US Department of Treasury portal prior to filing the H-1B application with USCIS. Khanna points out that the sponsoring employer cannot file the application and pay later. “Proof of payment (or proof of exception) must accompany the initial filing. Failure to include this proof results in automatic denial,” he said. However, if the H-1B application is denied, the fee will be refunded.
Khanna said, “The fourth criterion is particularly challenging. How do you prove that requiring payment would "significantly undermine" US interests? This seems to contemplate scenarios like: Critical national security projects where delay would be harmful, or perhaps Emergency healthcare or disaster response situations.”
“Document everything exhaustively. If as a sponsoring employer you are seeking an exception, assume you are making a case comparable to a National Interest Waiver, but with the added burden of proving the payment requirement itself causes harm,”added Khanna.
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