Legal Question in Immigration Law in Illinois

H-1B extension of stay confusion - they want $1000 more!

Hi there,

The company I work for recently changed from a sole proprietorship to an S Corporation. I was on an H-1B visa with the sole prop. and had to apply for an amended petition to change it to the corporation.

I didn't request an extension of stay, simply to keep the same visa on the same time limit but basically add an ''Inc.'' at the end of the company name.

I sent in the papers and got a letter back saying that an additional $1000 was required as the company was not exempt from the fee. They interpreted my request as a request for an extension of stay.

I had asked the immigration information officers several times about this exact scenario and they always said that just the $110 filing was necessary, not the full $1110 fee.

How do I approach this with Immigration? Do I simply send them a letter saying I only wanted an amended petition, which is covered by the filing fee? I don't want to lose my visa if they say ''too bad'' to that and I haven't sent them the money they want.

Just to clarify, on the I-129 I sent in, I checked the ''Change in previously approved employment box'' and the ''Extend or amend the stay of this person since they now hold this status.''

Thanks for any help you can give me!


Asked on 8/08/02, 7:05 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Carolyn Goldfarb Carolyn S. Goldfarb, Esq.

Re: H-1B extension of stay confusion - they want $1000 more!

What did the new I-129W say? If that said amended petition without extension, in my opinion, you would not have to pay the $1000. However, the filing fee is now $130 not $110.

On the other hand, since the taxpayer ID changed and you would have needed a new LCA from DOL, perhaps INS may argue that you do need to pay the whole thing again since it legally isn't the same petitioner because it is a different type of legal entity.

I can see it argued both ways. I would ask your lawyer to request a legal opinion from INS headquarters. In the meantime, I might inform INS of the change by letter to try to cover yourself.

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Answered on 8/08/02, 7:42 pm


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