USCIS Premium Processing Fees to Increase March 1, 2026

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has finalized a rule increasing premium processing fees for certain immigration forms. The new rates apply to any request postmarked on or after March 1, 2026.

The rule will be published in the Federal Register and applies to all forms currently eligible for premium processing through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Why USCIS Is Raising Fees

The increase is tied to inflation and stems from a federal law that requires DHS to adjust premium processing fees every two years.

USCIS based the new fees on a 5.72 percent increase in inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers between June 2023 and June 2025.

Premium processing fees were last raised in February 2024, following USCIS’s expansion of premium processing to additional benefit types. The March 2026 update is similar in size to that increase and does not introduce new premium processing categories or change processing time guarantees.

New Premium Processing Fees

Effective March 1, 2026, USCIS will reject any premium processing request submitted with an incorrect fee.

Form I-129 for H-2B and R-1 classifications will increase from $1,685 to $1,780.

Form I-129 for all other eligible classifications, including H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN, and E-3, will increase from $2,805 to $2,965.

Form I-140 employment-based immigrant petitions will increase from $2,805 to $2,965.

Form I-539 applications to extend or change nonimmigrant status for F, J, and M categories will increase from $1,965 to $2,075.

Form I-765 applications for employment authorization in OPT and STEM OPT categories will increase from $1,685 to $1,780.

All premium processing requests must continue to be filed using Form I-907, and only for benefit types specifically designated as premium-eligible by USCIS.

What Mobility Teams Should Know

This is an inflation-based adjustment, not a change to eligibility rules or adjudication standards.

The new fees apply to any Form I-907 postmarked on or after March 1, 2026.

As standard processing times lengthen and adjudication uncertainty increases, premium processing remains an important tool for reducing status risk and obtaining timely decisions.

Recommended Next Steps for Employers

Employers planning 2026 filings may need to revisit their immigration budgets as premium processing costs rise.

In practice, many companies rely on premium processing to manage start dates, avoid gaps in work authorization, or reduce travel-related risk for key employees, making the higher fees difficult to avoid in certain cases.

Companies with filings planned for early 2026 may also want to review timelines now to see whether any cases can be submitted before the March 1 compliance date.

USCIS has said the higher fees are expected to generate roughly $77 million a year, funds the agency says will be used to support adjudications, address backlogs, and maintain premium processing service levels.

Boundless will continue tracking USCIS fee changes and operational impacts as the new rates take effect.

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