Premium Processing Fee Increase Effective December 2, 2019; USCIS to Publish Proposed Rule on Fee Increase

On October 30, 2019, the USCIS announced that it will be adjusting the filing fee for premium processing from $1,410 to $1,440 for Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. The fee increase will take effect on December 2, 2019. All Form I-907 requests for premium processing, postmarked on or after December 2nd, must include the new fee. Premium processing is an optional service for 15-day processing of certain Forms I-129 and I-140 petitions. The fee for this service is paid in addition to the petition filing fee and any other applicable fees.

On November 8, 2019, the USCIS announced that it will be publishing a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register to adjust its fee schedule for 2019-2020. The USCIS last updated its fee structure in Fiscal Year 2017. The proposed rule will adjust the USCIS fee schedule by a weighted average increase of 21% to cover the agency’s increased costs to adjudicate immigration benefit requests, detect and deter immigration fraud, and thoroughly vet applicants, petitioners, and beneficiaries. In an unpublished version of the proposed rule, the USCIS plans to add new fees for certain benefit requests, establish different fees for petitions for nonimmigrant workers under H, L, TN, and O, and limit the number of beneficiaries on certain forms to ensure that USCIS has the resources it needs to provide adequate service to applicants.

The proposed rule is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on November 14, 2019. We will provide a detailed summary of the proposed changes shortly.