USCIS updates fee schedule
USCIS published a new Form G-1055 fee schedule on March 23, 2026 and updated the 'Calculate Your Fees' tool — meaning filing costs and fee-calculation processes have changed across almost all petition types. Premium processing instructions tied to I-907 were also revised, so miscalculating fees or submitting premium requests incorrectly could trigger denials or slowed processing. (uscis.gov)
USCIS raised specific I-907 premium-processing charges effective March 1, 2026: the fee for most I-129 classifications and for I-140 employment-based petitions increased to $2,965, the fee for certain I-539 filings rose to $2,075, and the fee for certain I-765 OPT/STEM-OPT requests rose to $1,780. (uscis.gov) USCIS will reject and return any Form I-907 that is postmarked on or after March 1, 2026 if it is filed with an incorrect premium-processing fee. (uscis.gov) The Department of Homeland Security’s final rule implementing the inflation adjustment projects an additional annual transfer of roughly $77,119,780 from the premium-processing fee increase. (federalregister.gov) USCIS’s G-1055 fee schedule reiterates that fees required by Pub. L. 119-21 are not waivable and also records a litigation-driven pause (effective Feb. 5, 2026) on collecting certain HR‑1 fees from qualifying Ms. L. settlement-class members and their qualifying family members. (uscis.gov) Operational changes firms must codify include: update client fee-estimate templates to show $2,965/$2,075/$1,780 premium amounts and flag whether a filing includes an H.R.1 statutory fee (USCIS tables), require proof of postmark/ship-date for any I-907, and add language in retainers clarifying who bears premium costs. (uscis.gov) USCIS guidance also eliminates acceptance of personal or business checks for most paper filings and directs paper filers to use credit/debit cards (Form G-1450) or ACH (Form G-1650), so update lockbox-payment checklists and Pay.gov billing instructions before mailing premium requests. (uscis.gov)
