September 30, 2020 Revision: The announced changes to filing fees set to take place October 2, 2020 has been blocked by a federal district court. The below changes will not be implemented. The ruling expected to be repealed by the Department of Homeland Security. Read more here.
The USCIS has announced an increase in its filing fees, set to take effect on October 2, 2020. The adjustments come as part efforts to increase revenue due to a budgetary crisis.
Key highlights:
- Premium processing time will increase from 15 calendar days to 15 business days (i.e. not including Saturday and Sunday). The cost of premium processing, however, will remain unchanged at $1,440.
- Employers with a high proportion of H-1B and L-1 employees -- more than 50 employees, of which more than 50% are in H-1B or L-1 -- must already pay an additional $4,000 fee for each initial and change of employer H-1B petition and $4500 for each L-1 petition. Starting October 2, 2020, these employers must also pay the above fee for H-1B and L-1 extensions.
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will also separate the standard I-129 nonimmigrant worker petition form into different forms for each visa classification. Instead of paying the standard $460 I-129 fee, employers will use a visa-specific I-129 form and pay the accompanying fee for that visa (e.g. H-1B, H-2A/B, L-1, O, or TN).
- For H-1Bs, that fee will rise to $555. For L-1s applicants, the fee will rise to $805, nearly double the previous cost.
- Currently, applicants submitting the I-485 application (the “green card” application) can also file applications for Advance Parole (AP) and Employment Authorization Document (EAD), without having to pay additional fees for the AP and EAD applications. As of October 2nd, there will be separate filing fees for new and renewal applications of green card-based EAD and APs.
Asylum applicants must now pay a $50 application fee.
A summarized list of fee adjustments announced by the USCIS can be found below. For the full list for fee adjustments, please see page 13 of the Final Rule.
| Nonimmigrant | Old Fee | New Fee |
| I-129 H-1B | $460 | $555 |
| I-129 L-1A/L-1B | $460 | $805 |
| I-129 O-1 | $460 | $705 |
| I-129 E & TN | $460 | $695 |
| I-539, Application to Extend/Change Non-immigrant status (Online Filing) | $370 | $390 |
| I-539, Application to Extend/Change Non-immigrant status (Paper Application) | $370 | $400 |
| Immigrant | Old Fee | New Fee |
| I-140, Immigrant Visa Petition | $700 | $555 |
| I-485, Application to Adjust Status | $1,140 | $1,130 |
| I-485, Application to Adjust Status for applicant under the age of 14 | $750 | $1,130 |
| I-765, Application for Employment Authorization (Non-DACA) | $410 | $550 |
| I-765, Application for Employment Authorization (DACA) | $410 | $410 |
| I-131, Application for Travel Document | $575 | $590 |
| Biometrics Fee (NON-DACA) | $85 | $30 |
| Biometrics Fee (DACA) | $85 | $85 |
| Total Fees for Adjustment of Status Applications bundle -- I-485 with I-765, and I-131 | $1,225 | $2,270 |
| I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (online filing) | $455 | $405 |
| I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (paper filing) | $455 | $415 |
| Citizenship | Old Fee | New Fee |
| N-400, Application for Naturalization (online) | $640 | $1,160 |
| N-400, Application for Naturalization (paper filing) | $640 | $1,170 |
