USCIS is raising its premium processing fees effective March 1, 2026, citing inflation from June 2023 through June 2025. The Department of Homeland Security is required by law to make these adjustments on a biennial (every two years) basis, and this is the second such inflation-driven increase — the first took effect in February 2024. If you use premium processing to speed up an employment-based petition, you'll need to pay more starting March 1.

Key Points

  • What: USCIS is increasing premium processing fees to account for CPI-U inflation from June 2023 to June 2025
  • Who: Employers and petitioners filing employment-based immigration requests using premium processing (e.g., H-1B, O-1, L-1, EB-1, NIW)
  • When: New fees apply to any request postmarked on or after March 1, 2026
  • Impact: Petitioners who submit after the deadline without the updated fee risk rejection of their premium processing request

What Is Premium Processing?

Premium processing is an optional USCIS service that guarantees expedited review of eligible employment-based petitions — typically within 15 business days — in exchange for an additional fee paid on top of the standard filing fee. It's widely used for H-1B, O-1, L-1, EB-1, and National Interest Waiver (NIW) petitions.

What's Actually Changing

The new rule increases premium processing fees across the board to reflect inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). This is a mandatory, formula-driven adjustment authorized by Congress under the USCIS Stabilization Act — DHS doesn't have discretion to skip it.

The last increase took effect February 26, 2024, when fees moved from:

  • $1,500 → $1,685
  • $1,750 → $1,965
  • $2,500 → $2,805

This new rule applies another inflationary increase on top of those 2024 rates. The exact new dollar amounts aren't fully detailed in the summary text, but the adjustment reflects approximately two years of CPI-U inflation (June 2023–June 2025).

The Hard Deadline

The compliance date is strict: any Form I-907 (Request for Premium Processing Service) postmarked on or after March 1, 2026 must include the new fee. Submitting the old fee amount after that date will likely result in rejection of your premium processing request.

If you have a petition you're planning to file with premium processing, consider whether submitting before March 1 with the current fee makes more sense — especially for time-sensitive cases.

What You Should Do

  • If you plan to file with premium processing soon: Consider submitting before March 1, 2026, to lock in the current fee. Ensure your check or payment is postmarked by February 28, 2026.
  • If you're filing on or after March 1: Check USCIS.gov for the updated fee schedule before submitting. Using the wrong fee will get your premium processing request rejected.
  • Employers and HR teams: Update your immigration filing checklists and notify any employees with pending petitions. Budget planning for 2026 should reflect the higher premium processing costs.
  • No action needed now if you have no pending filings — but bookmark the USCIS fee schedule page and check it before your next filing.