Premium Processing Fees Will Increase Effective February 26
The premium processing fee for I-140 immigrant worker petitions and most Form I-129 nonimmigrant worker petitions will increase to $2805, from $2500. Fees for premium processing of certain other petitions and applications will also increase. The new fees will take effect for filings postmarked on or after February 26, 2024.
The issue
According to an advance copy of a final regulation that will be published in the Federal Register tomorrow, USCIS will increase the fees for premium processing of certain employment-based applications and petitions on February 26, 2024.
The new premium fees are as follows:
| Case type | Current Premium Processing Fee | New Premium Processing Fee | Increase |
| Form I-140 | $2500 | $2805 | $305 |
| Form I-129 | $2500 $1500 (H-2B & R-1) | $2805 $1685 (H-2B & R-1) | $305 $185 |
| Form I-539 | $1750 | $1965 | $215 |
| Form I-765 (F-1 OPT) | $1500 | $1685 | $185 |
According to a USCIS press release, the new fees will apply to premium processing requests postmarked on or after February 26, 2024. USCIS says that it plans to increase premium processing fees biennially in the future. It is not currently planning to change the timeframes for cases requesting premium service.
Status of USCIS’s proposed fee schedule
In January 2023, USCIS issued a proposed fee schedule that sought to make significant increases in the cost of filing an array of applications and petitions, as well as the fee for registering a foreign national for the annual H-1B cap lottery. That proposal did not seek to raise premium processing fees, which were last increased when Congress made the expedited processing program permanent and broadened it to new case types. The broader USCIS fee proposal remains under review and could be finalized by April 2024, according the agency’s most recent regulatory agenda.
What this means for employers
Employers should factor the new premium processing fees into their immigration budget planning for the coming year.