US hikes premium processing fees for H-1B visa, E-1, E-2 and other categories — Check new fees, implementation date | Today News

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced an increase in premium processing fees for several visas, including the H-1B visa. The hike will apply only to applicants who opt for faster processing, while the standard visa filing fee remains unchanged.

According to USCIS, the changes will take effect on 1 March, 2026. It will affect key employment-based and non-immigrant filings which are widely used by foreign professionals, including Indian nationals working or studying in the United States.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has the authority to adjust premium processing fees every two years to account for inflation. Accordingly, USCIS said the latest increase reflects the inflation levels between June 2023 through June 2025.

Under the revise fee schedule, the premium processing fee for Form I-129, petitions for a H-2B or R-1 nonimmigrant status will rise from $1,685 to $1,780.

The changes will also apply to all other available Form I-129 classifications, including H-1B, E-1, E-2, E-3, H-3, L-1A, L-1B, LZ, O-1, O-2, P-1, P-1S, P-2, P-2S, P-3, P-3S, Q-1, TN-1 and TN-2. Their premium processing fees will increase from $2,805 to $2,965.

The same $2,965 fee will apply to Form I-140 immigrant petitions for alien workers across employment-based categories, up from the previous $2,805, USCIS said. It includes, E11, E12, E13, E21 (NIW and non-NIW), E31, E32, and EW3.

Another category that will be impacted is certain applications to extend or change non immigrant status. For Form I-539 applications covering F-1 and F-2 students, J-1 and J-2 exchange visitors, and M-1 and M-2 vocational students, the premium processing fee will increase from $1,965 to $2,075.

For people who want their work permit processed faster, USCIS said the premium processing fee for Form I-765 applications, which covers Optional Practical Training (OPT) and STEM-OPT classifications, will increase from $1,685 to $1,780.

The fee hikes are likely to impact many Indian professionals, students and employers, as Indians make up a larger share of H-1B, L-1, and other such applications.

Premium processing is entirely optional, and is mainly used by employers and applicants who want quicker adjudication timelines in cases such as job changes, visa extensions, travel plans or get clarity on their status faster.

Indians are the largest beneficiaries of US employment-based visas, particularly the H-1B, consistently receiving over 70% of all approved visas annually. Whereas, China remains a distant second in the list, as reported by Mint earlier.

Optional Practical Training and STEM-OPT extensions are also commonly used by Indian students graduating from US universities as a pathway to longer-term work visas such as the H-1B programme.

“The revenue generated by this fee increase will be used to provide premium processing services; make improvements to adjudication processes; respond to adjudication demands, including processing backlogs; and otherwise fund USCIS adjudication and naturalization services,” the official statement by USCIS read.