January 10, 2024

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced a final rule concerning fee increases. This rule would increase the fees for premium processing to adjust for inflation. Furthermore, the new fees will go into effect on February 26, 2024. 

Premium processing fees first appeared in the USCIS Stabilization Act. This Act gave the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the authority to adjust these fees periodically. Since the Act’s inception, the USCIS has kept the premium processing fees unchanged for three years. 

However, the USCIS has decided to adjust the fees based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. The agency will use the period of June 2021 to June 2023 to determine the increases. Though it could prove advantageous to file cases by the effective date of the fee increases, companies should consult counsel for more informed decisions.

The Increase in fees for several types of cases are listed below:

• Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker: The fee will increase from $2,500 to $2,805 for classifications E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-3, L-1A, L-1B, LZ, O-1, O-2, P-1, P-1S, P-2, P-2S, P-3, P-3S, Q-1, TN-1, and TN-2.
• Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker: The fee will increase from $1,500 to $1,685 for H-2B or R-1 nonimmigrant status.
• Form I-140, Immigration Petition for Alien Worker: The fee will increase from $2,500 to $2,805 for classifications E11, E12, E21 (non-NIW), E31, E32, EW3, E13 and E21 (NIW).
• Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status: The fee will increase from $1,750 to $1,965 for the classifications F-1, F-2, M-1, M-2, J-1, J-2, E-1, E-2, E-3, L-2, H-4, O-3, P-4, and R-2.
• Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization: The fee will increase from $1,500 to $1,685 for Certain F-1 students with categories C03A, C03B, C03C.

Interested and affected parties should remember that the USCIS determines who qualifies for premium processing. As such, anyone curious about who may benefit from it should check the USCIS’s website.

The USCIS explained how it would use the additional revenue from the fee increases. According to the announcement, the agency would improve adjudication processes. The USCIS also detailed how the funds would help respond to adjudication demands and to fund naturalization and other adjudication services.

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