Immigration Alert: USCIS Increases Premium Processing Fee

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a nearly 15% fee increase for its premium processing service.  The current $1,225 fee will increase to $1,410, effective October 1, 2018.

Premium processing is an optional service USCIS offers to employers that for an additional fee allows for 15-day processing of certain immigrant and non-immigrant employment-based visa petitions.  The fee, paid in addition to any established USCIS filing fees, is returned if the petition is not adjudicated within 15 days of filing.

In a statement, USCIS noted that the increase reflects “the percentage change in inflation since the fee was last increased in 2010 based on the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers.”  More importantly, the additional revenue “will allow [USCIS] to continue making necessary investments in staff and technology to administer various immigration benefit requests more effectively and efficiently.”

To learn more about this post or if you have any questions about any other immigration matter, feel free to contact me at rglahoud@norris-law.com.