Premium Processing Fees Will Increase Effective March 1st
According to an advance copy of a final regulation that will be published in the Federal Register January 12, USCIS will increase the fees for premium processing of certain employment-based applications and petitions on March 1, 2026 to reflect the amount of inflation from June 2023 through June 2025. This inflationary adjustment occurs on a biennial basis and the premium processing fees were last adjusted in February 2024.
The new premium fees are as follows:
| Case type | Current Premium Processing Fee | New Premium Processing Fee | Increase |
Form I-140 | $2805 | $2965 | $160 |
Form I-129 | $2805 $1685 (H-2B & R-1) | $2965 $1780 (H-2B & R-1) | $160 $95 |
Form I-539 | $1965 | $2075 | $110 |
Form I-765 (F-1 OPT) | $1685 | $1780 | $95 |
Employers should factor the new premium processing fees into their immigration budget.