USCIS Increases I-907 Premium Processing Filing Fee Starting October 1, 2018

The Department of Homeland Security has announced that they are increasing the I-907 premium processing service filing fee to $1,410.   The new premium processing filing fee increase will become effective for all requests mailed, postmarked or otherwise filed on or after October 1, 2018.   Under the optional premium processing service USCIS is required to provide a response within 15 calendar days to most (but not all) employment-based I-129 and I-140 petitions.

Rationale of Fee Increase

The USCIS announcement seeks to justify the increase based on consumer price index increase since the last time this fee was adjusted in 2010.

The premium processing fee will increase to $1,410, a 14.92 percent increase (after rounding) from the current fee of $1,225. This increase, which is done in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act, represents the percentage change in inflation since the fee was last increased in 2010 based on the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers.

“Because premium processing fees have not been adjusted since 2010, our ability to improve the adjudications and service processes for all petitioners has been hindered as we’ve experienced significantly higher demand for immigration benefits. Ultimately, adjusting the premium processing fee will allow us to continue making necessary investments in staff and technology to administer various immigration benefit requests more effectively and efficiently,” said Chief Financial Officer Joseph Moore. “USCIS will continue adjudicating all petitions on a case-by-case basis to determine if they meet all standards required under applicable law, policies, and regulations.”

Conclusion

Many of our readers and especially those who are frequent filers (corporate clients, mainly) will not be very happy with the prospect of having to pay a notably higher premium processing fee.  However, we hope that the fee increase would allow USCIS to be able to increase staffing levels and be able to reinstate the availability of premium processing service earlier than the current February 2019 premium processing service suspension for H-1B cases.

We urge our clients to consider making plans to file any upcoming premium processing applications before the new fee becomes effective on October 1, 2018.  We invite you to subscribe to our free weekly immigration newsletter to receive timely updates on this and related topics. We also invite you to contact us if our office can be of any assistance in your immigration matters or you have any questions or comments about this USCIS fee increase.