U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is changing the fees for premium processing.  Expedited processing of Form I-129, which is required for O-1 and H-1B nonimmigrant visas, and Form I-140, which is filed when applying for EB-1 and EB-2(NIW) immigrant visas, will cost $2,805 instead of the previous $2,500. The changes will take effect on February 26, 2024. Applications with incorrect payment submitted after this date will be rejected and returned to the senders.

Premium processing reduces the review time of your petition to 15 calendar days (i.e., a 50 - 75% reduction from the standard timeframe).  This requires the petitioner or his/ her attorney representative to complete and sign an additional Form I-907. You can upgrade your case to premium processing even if your case is already pending with USCIS. However, Form I-129 must be submitted to USCIS at least 45 days before the intended start date of employment.

The previous fees were set in 2021, and by law, the Department of Homeland Security has the authority to adjust them every two years. The fees remained unchanged for three years, and now the agency has decided to index the cost of services to the level of inflation from June 2021 to June 2023 according to the Consumer Price Index. The additional revenue will be used to improve the application process, and reduce processing times.