- USCIS increased premium processing fees starting March 1, 2026, to address inflation and service costs.
- Most employment-based petitions now require a fee of $2,965 to ensure expedited 15-day adjudication.
- Additional revenue will fund adjudication improvements, reduce backlogs, and support naturalization services across the agency.
(UNITED STATES) — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services raised its premium processing fee on March 1, 2026, setting a new $2,965 fee for many employers and foreign workers who pay for faster decisions on certain immigration filings.
The agency tied the increase to Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, which offers expedited adjudication within 15 business days for eligible requests.
USCIS made the change effective for requests postmarked on or after March 1, 2026, and said it will reject any Form I-907 submitted with the incorrect amount.
The Department of Homeland Security published a final rule on January 12, 2026, titled “Adjustment to Premium Processing Fees” under 8 CFR Part 106, and USCIS alerted the public on January 9, 2026.
The Federal Register notice described the change as an inflation-based adjustment tied to DHS authority, saying, “DHS is now increasing its premium processing fees based on the rate of inflation from June 2023 through June 2025, consistent with its statutory authority. Fees will continue to be adjusted agency-wide to account for inflation and protect the real dollar value of the premium processing service we provide.”
DHS linked the update to a biennial mechanism mandated by federal law, citing the USCIS Stabilization Act and a Consumer Price Index measure. The 2026 increase reflects a 5.72% inflation rate measured from June 2023 to June 2025.
USCIS framed the higher charges as a way to keep the expedited service operating while supporting broader agency work. “The revenue generated by this fee increase will be used to provide premium processing services; make improvements to adjudication processes; respond to adjudication demands, including processing backlogs; and otherwise fund USCIS adjudication and naturalization services,” an Official USCIS Statement dated March 2, 2026, said.
For many of the most common employment-based uses of premium processing, the fee rose to $2,965 from $2,805, including requests tied to Form I-129 and Form I-140, USCIS and DHS materials show.
Premium processing generally relies on Form I-907 as the request mechanism, and it is often used for employment-related petitions. The categories frequently associated with Form I-129 include H-1B, L-1, O-1 and TN, among others listed by the agency.
USCIS also applies premium processing to some other filings reflected in its updated fee schedule, including certain change or extension of status requests on Form I-539 and certain employment authorization requests on Form I-765 connected to OPT and STEM OPT.
The updated schedule lays out different premium processing fees by form type and classification, and USCIS directs filers to confirm the correct amount for the specific underlying petition or application paired with Form I-907.
DHS said the compliance trigger is the postmark date, not the date the agency opens the package. Requests postmarked on or after March 1, 2026, must include the updated fee, or they risk being rejected.
DHS projected the higher fees will generate approximately $77 million in additional annual revenue, the published materials said. The Department of Homeland Security tied that funding to sustaining premium processing operations and supporting work that includes naturalization-related services.
The increase affects employers that file large volumes of work-related petitions, including large companies and Indian IT firms that submit thousands of H-1B and L-1 cases. The higher per-filing charge can accumulate quickly when applied across a workforce.
Skilled workers can also feel the impact when they pay the premium processing charge themselves where permitted, including some people seeking faster decisions to avoid longer waits. In examples cited in the materials, the increase added $160 for some common employment-based premium processing requests.
International students and recent graduates using premium processing for OPT or STEM OPT employment authorization face higher costs as well. The materials described a $95 increase for that expedited service, which can matter for applicants trying to align adjudication timing with planned work start dates and proof of work authorization.
USCIS said the additional funds support staffing and technology improvements aimed at improving adjudication capacity and addressing backlogs, while continuing to provide the 15-business-day service for eligible premium processing requests.
Filers submitting Form I-907 after March 1 must match the request to the correct underlying filing and ensure the payment amount aligns with the classification covered by the premium processing schedule. USCIS said incorrect payments can result in rejection, which can delay time-sensitive employment and work authorization plans.
USCIS points applicants and employers to its official fee schedule resources, including the USCIS Fee Schedule (G-1055), and to the Federal Register final rule dated January 12, 2026. The agency also posts updates through its USCIS Newsroom alerts page.
In its March 2, 2026, statement, USCIS cast the increase as a funding tool for both speed and capacity, saying, “The revenue generated by this fee increase will be used to provide premium processing services; make improvements to adjudication processes; respond to adjudication demands, including processing backlogs; and otherwise fund USCIS adjudication and naturalization services.”
