Effective February 26, 2024, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will raise the premium processing fees for various employment-based petitions. The fee for I-140 immigrant worker petitions and most Form I-129 nonimmigrant worker petitions will increase from $2,500 to $2,805. Additionally, premium processing fees for other petitions and applications will also see an increase.

Notably, starting April 1, 2024, USCIS will transition from calendar days to business days for premium processing adjudication timeframes. This change is expected to extend processing times by at least one week for affected case types. The fee adjustments and processing time changes are part of USCIS’s efforts, with plans to increase premium processing fees biennially in the future.

Employers are advised to incorporate these changes into their immigration budget planning, considering the new premium processing fees and USCIS filing fees. For those aiming to benefit from current premium processing fees, collaboration with immigration teams is recommended to prepare and submit cases before the upcoming fee adjustment on February 26. Additionally, employers and foreign nationals should anticipate longer premium processing adjudication timeframes starting April 1, 2024.

Source: Fragomen