The nonlinear photoresponse to a 1.56-\mu m infrared continuous wave laser in semi-insulating (SI) galliumarsenide (GaAs) is examined. The double-frequency absorption (DFA) is responsible for the nonlinear photoresponse based on the quadratic dependence of the photocurrent separately on the coupled optical power and bias voltage. The electric field-induced DFA remarkably affects the native DFA in SI GaAs. The surface electric field or the surface band-bending of SI GaAs significantly affects the magnitude variation of the photocurrent and dark current.