On Jan. 30, the Department of Homeland Security published the long-anticipated and final U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services fee rule. Under the final rule, immigration filing fees will see their most dramatic increases in years. The new fee schedule is set to take effect April 1, 2024.

We’re breaking down the new rule to help you understand how these fee increases could impact your business and its immigration program.

Highlights from the rule

A chart summarizing the fee increases is available on page 5 of the final rule that was officially published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, Jan. 31.

H-1Bs

The fee for an H-1B petition will increase from $460 to $780, an increase of 70%.

The H-1B registration fee will also increase from $10 to $215, though the higher rate will not be in effect for this year’s H-1B registration period, which runs from March 6-22. USCIS does, however, plan to charge the higher fee for H-1B petitions once cap filing begins April 1. According to the rule, any benefit request postmarked on or after the April 1 effective date must be accompanied with the higher fee.

Other petition fees

  • The fee for an L-1 petition will increase from $460 to $1,385.
  • The I-140 petition fee will increase from $700 to $715.
  • The I-485 petition fee will increase from $1,225 to $1,440, and the fees for the adjustment of status bundle (I-485, I-131, I-765) will increase from $1,225 to $2,330.

Asylum program fee

The final rule also includes a $600 asylum program fee that will be charged for each Form I-129 and Form I-140 filing. This fee will come on top of increases to base filing fees. However, the fee will be reduced to $300 for small employers (25 or fewer employees) and nonprofit organizations are exempt from the fee.

Premium processing

Finally, the rule will also change premium processing timeframes from calendar days to business days, potentially extending the processing window.

 

Breakdown of proposed USCIS fee increases by petition type

Potential impact to businesses

We’ve crunched the numbers to illustrate the impact to hypothetical small- and mid-size programs.

Illustrative impact for small programs

ABC Company completed 54 filings in 2023 that will be impacted by the fee increases.

ABC Company’s 2023 filings impacted by the new fees

Form or Type Description # of Petitions
H-1B Registration H-1B Registration 6
I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker – H-1 17
I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker – H-2A (named) 6
I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker – Other 1
I-131 Application for Travel Document – Reentry Permit or Advance Parole 3
I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker 3
I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (includes I-131 & I-765) 2
I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status 8
I-765 Application for Employment Authorization 8
Total number of relevant filings 54

In 2023, the total filing fees the company paid was $23,445.

With the new fees applied, ABC Company’s total fees will increase by 134% to $54,920, an increase of $31,475.

Illustrative impact for medium programs

XYZ Company completed 259 filings in 2023 that will be impacted by the fee increases.

XYZ Company’s 2023 filings impacted by the new fees

Form or Type Description # of Petitions
H-1B Registration H-1B Registration 47
I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker – H-1 71
I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker – L 2
I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker – O 5
I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker – Other 9
I-130 Petition for Alien Relative 2
I-131 Application for Travel Document – Reentry Permit or Advanced Parole 16
I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker 28
I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Includes I-131 & I-765) 9
I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status 25
I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence 1
I-765 Application for Employment Authorization 43
N-400 Application for Naturalization 1
Total number of relevant filings 259

In 2023, the total filing fees the company paid was $108,735.

With the new fees applied, XYZ Company’s total fees will increase by 120% to $239,705, an increase of $130,970.

Fee calculator

So what will the increases mean for YOUR business?

Our USCIS fee calculator allows you to calculate the filing fees for your program.

CALCULATE MY FEES

BAL and BAL Community continue to review the final rule and will provide updated information and resources in the coming days and weeks. Subscribe to our newsletter and join BAL Community for access to upcoming focus groups, webinars and additional expert analysis on the USCIS fee increases.