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USCIS Increases H-1B Premium Processing Fee to $2,805

12/29/2023

In a recent update, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a final rule to adjust premium processing fees to account for inflation, with the changes set to take effect on February 26, 2024.

The premium processing fees were initially established under the USCIS Stabilization Act, which granted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the authority to periodically adjust these fees. After maintaining these fees at the same level for three years, USCIS has decided to implement adjustments based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, covering the period from June 2021 to June 2023.

Insight for Corporate Immigration Professionals: We recommend strategizing with counsel on what cases may potentially be filed by February 26, 2024 to get ahead of the Premium Processing fee increases, if at all possible.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the Premium Processing fee increases for various case types:

Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker (H-1B, L-1A, L-1B, O-1, TN-1, etc.):
- Previous Fee: $2,500
- New Fee: $2,805
Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker (H-2B or R-1 nonimmigrant status)
- Previous Fee: $1,500
- New Fee: $1,685
Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker:
- Previous Fee: $2,500 (Employment-based (EB) classifications)
- New Fee: $2,805 (Employment-based (EB) classifications)
Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status:
- Previous Fee: $1,750 (Various classifications)
- New Fee: $1,965 (Various classifications)
Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization:
- Previous Fee: $1,500 (Certain F-1 students with specific categories)
- New Fee: $1,685 (Certain F-1 students with specific categories)

You can view the full list of fee adjustments in the USCIS announcement.

According to USCIS, the additional revenue from these fee increases will be used to “make improvements to adjudications processes; respond to adjudication demands, including reducing benefit request processing backlogs; and otherwise fund USCIS adjudication and naturalization services.”