• Non-Immigrant Processes
• Permanent Residence Processes

Non-Immigrant Processes

H-1B Processes

New Hire or Change of Status (i.e., employee’s first time obtaining H-1B work authorization with us)

• USCIS base filing fee for Form I-129: $960
• Additional USCIS premium processing fee for adjudication within 15 days: $2,500 
  • HSOM departments REQUIRED to pay this fee 
    • If dually-appointed clinical faculty requiring two petitions, premium processing is applied only to the first (usually HSF) petition. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if the faculty member request premium processing for the second (concurrent--usually UAB) petition.
  • In other schools, either the employee or the department can pay the premium processing fee UNLESS having the employee pay the $2,500 fee would reduce the employee’s pay below the DOL prevailing wage level. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.u with questions. When premium processing is a business necessity, rather than for the employee's peace of mind or convenience/travel plans, the department must pay the fee. 
  • See the Check Request Memo included in every IFSIS packet and the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division Fact Sheet #62H.
  • Given the need for employees to provide a USCIS approval notice for driver and medical licenses, IFSIS strongly recommends always requesting premium processing whenever possible.
• Additional $39.95 Edge database case activation fee for petitions where UAB is the sponsoring employer
• Additional $789.95 processing fee for petitions where a UAB affiliate is the sponsoring employer
• UPS/FedEx courier charge for shipping the petition to USCIS (usually $15-30)

Bottom line approximate costing for initial H-1B sponsorship: 

$3,500 for UAB petitions for employees in the Heersink School of Medicine

$1,000 for UAB petitions for employees outside the Heersink School of Medicine

$4,200 for petitions for employees sponsored by UAB affiliates (HSF, Valley Foundation, Southern Research)

Bottom line costing for extending H-1B sponsorship:

• Same fees/structure as above, with ONE exception: USCIS base filing fee for Form I-129 decreases to $460

O-1 Processes

New Hire or Change of Status (i.e., employee’s first time obtaining O-1 work authorization with us)

• USCIS base filing fee for Form I-129: $460
• Additional USCIS premium processing fee for adjudication within 15 days: $2,500 
  • HSOM departments REQUIRED to pay this fee, including if dually-appointed clinical faculty requiring two petitions: premium processing is required for BOTH petitions. 
  • In other schools, either the employee or the department can pay the premium processing fee. When premium processing is a business necessity, rather than for the employee's peace of mind or convenience/travel plans, the department is expected to pay the fee.
  • See the Check Request Memo included in every IFSIS packet.
  • Given the need for employees to provide USCIS approval notices for driver and medical licenses, IFSIS strongly recommends always requesting premium processing whenever possible.
• Additional $39.95 Edge database case activation fee for petitions where UAB is the sponsoring employer
• Additional $789.95 processing fee for petitions where a UAB affiliate is the sponsoring employer
• UPS/FedEx courier charge for shipping the petition to USCIS (usually $15-30)

Bottom line approximate costing for initial O-1 sponsorship: 

$3,000 for UAB petitions for employees in the Heersink School of Medicine

$500 for UAB petitions for employees outside the Heersink School of Medicine

$3,700 for petitions for employees sponsored by UAB affiliates (HSF, Valley Foundation, Southern Research)

Bottom line approximate costing for extending O-1 sponsorship:

• Same fees/structure as above, with ONE exception: premium processing is NOT necessary for both concurrent O-1 petitions, if for dually-appointed clinical faculty

Permanent Residence Processes

EB-1B Category for Outstanding Professor/Researcher

This is for faculty and clinical faculty holding a tenure-track position with UAB and for employeels with “permanent” research positions, such as Researcher V and Scientist career ladders—NOT postdocs, residents, or fellows.

• USCIS base filing fee for Form I-140: $700 (employee usually asked to pay up front and request reimbursement through Payroll as a taxable benefit)
• Additional USCIS premium processing fee for adjudication within 15 days: $2,500 (employee usually asked to pay up front and request reimbursement through Payroll as a taxable benefit; department sometimes pays this fee when required to preserve employment authorization timeline. This is clearly explained on the Check Request Memo sent to the administrator when EB-1B sponsorship is confirmed.)
• UPS/FedEx courier charge for shipping the petition to USCIS (usually $30)
• Edge database case activation fee ($39.95)

IFSIS drafts, reviews, and processes all EB-1B petitions in-house, even if the sponsored employee wishes to retain their own attorney to help collect recommendation letters. No outside attorney can file an EB-1B petition on behalf of UAB, and UAB is not required to pay the attorney fees for any employee choosing to retain their own attorney. An outside attorney is not necessary. USCIS routinely approves IFSIS petitions prepared in-house in the EB-1B category for employees who do not retain an outside attorney. Clinical faculty who are 100% funded by HSF and/or who do not have a tenure-track appointment with UAB are not eligible for EB-1B sponsorship. HSF sponsors clinical faculty only in the EB-2 PERM category, below.

EB-2 PERM Category for non-tenured Clinical Faculty, Researcher Vs, Scientists, and Certain IT Professionals

This category is for employees whose position or personal achievements do not qualify them for the EB-1B category, such as a) clinical faculty sponsored 100% by HSF or without a tenure-track position at UAB, b) Researcher Vs/ Scientists who haven’t developed their CV enough to qualify in the EB-1B category, and c) IT professionals lacking a research-based portfolio. It requires the employer to recruit under mandatory Department of Labor guidelines.

• Advertising fees stemming from DOL requirements to advertise in specific media (including physical Birmingham News paper, professional journal, online sources, etc.): can vary, but anecdotally usually come in around $4,000 
• USCIS base filing fee for Form I-140: $700 (employee usually asked to pay up front and request reimbursement through Payroll as a taxable benefit) 
• Additional USCIS premium processing fee for adjudication within 15 days: $2,500 (employee usually asked to pay up front and request reimbursement through Payroll as a taxable benefit; department sometimes pays this fee when required to preserve employment authorization timeline. This is clearly explained on the Check Request Memo sent to the administrator when EB-1B sponsorship is confirmed.)
• UPS/FedEx courier charge for shipping the petition to USCIS (usually $30)
• Edge database case activation fee ($39.95)
• Additional $1,039.95 processing fee for petitions where HSF, HSF, Valley, or Southern Research is the sponsoring employer*

Please Note: The EB-2 PERM process is the most expensive and time-consuming permanent residence path for an employer, requiring recruitment to test the US labor market, close analysis of the minimum education and experience requirements for the position, and evaluation of the sponsored employee’s credentials and qualifying experience. If the sponsored employee graduated from UAB and/or obtained all qualifying experience for the position while working only at UAB, or if there is not a clear relationship between the sponsored employee’s education and experience and the requirements and duties of the UAB position for which they are being sponsored, there will be additional complicating factors that may make PERM sponsorship extremely problematic or even impossible. In these instances, IFSIS reserves the right to refer such cases to outside counsel approved by the UA System for consultation and handling of the PERM sponsorship. The hourly rate for initial consultation with outside counsel to assess the PERM’s viability is $250. Legal fees for PERMs needing outside counsel can cost between $3,000-$7,500 (depending on whether the DOL selects the PERM for audit), in addition to the advertising and USCIS filing fees listed above.   

Permanent Residence Paths That Do NOT Require Express Employer Sponsorship

Some employees decide to pursue multiple permanent residence paths simultaneously. This is fine, but not all of the paths require employer sponsorship. If an employee approaches the department about applying for permanent residence in either the EB-1A (alien of extraordinary ability) or EB-2 NIW/PNIW (national interest waiver/physician national interest waiver) categories, please understand that employers are not required to pay any of the USCIS filing fees or attorneys’ fees associated with these permanent residence routes because they are considered “self-petitioning” based on either the employee’s own extraordinary achievements (EB-1A) or the national interest of their work (EB-2 NIW/PNIW). An employee needs only one permanent residence route to be successful at the Form I-140 stage in order to be able to remain in the US and continue working while waiting for a green card. One route may result in obtaining a green card faster than another, depending on the employee’s country of birth, and therefore one may seem more urgent or convenient than another for any given individual. However, from a purely business standpoint of understanding the cost and need for permanent resident sponsorship, the institution needs only one such route—whether employer-sponsored or self-petitioning—to be successful in order for the employee to continue their underlying work authorization until a green card is issued.

Please see the “Information for Departments” section of our website for additional information: https://www.uab.edu/global/faculty-staff/information-for-departments/the-permanent-residence-green-card-process