The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published a regulation increasing filing fees across a wide range of immigration benefit petitions and applications, significantly increasing fees for many employment-based petitions, applications, and related filings. The fee changes will take effect April 1, 2024. Most notably, these changes include the following:
I-129 filing fees will vary by visa classification and employer type. For all petitioners, except for IRC § 501(c)(3) nonprofits and employers with 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees, I-129 filing fees will increase: for H-1B petitions from $460 to $780; for L-1 petitions from $460 to $1,385; for O-1 petitions from $460 to $1,055; and for TN, E, and other petitions from $460 to $1,015;
The filing fees for EB-5 petitions for standalone investors (I-526) and for regional center investors (I-526E) will increase from $3,675 to $11,160; for investors to remove conditions on residence (I-829), the filing fee will increase from $3,750 to $9,525;
Starting with the FY2026 H-1B cap season, the H-1B cap registration fee will increase from $10 to $215; the H-1B cap registration fee will remain $10 for the FY2025 H-1B cap.
In addition, the final rule includes the following changes/additional filing fees:
A $600 “Asylum Program Fee” will be imposed on all I-129 and I-140 petitions, except for those filed by small employers and nonprofits, on top of the increased base filing fee;
A $300 “Asylum Program Fee” will be imposed on all I-129 and I-140 petitions filed by small employers (employers with 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees), on top of the increased base filing fee;
No “Asylum Program Fee” will be imposed on IRC § 501(c)(3) nonprofit petitioners;
Premium processing will take longer, as the adjudication period will be measured in 15 business days rather than calendar days;
Biometrics fees will be incorporated into main fees for nearly all case types where applicable;
DHS will require separate fees for adjustment of status (I-485), employment authorization (I-765), and advance parole (I-131) applications, even when the applications are filed concurrently; and
Where online filing is permissible, the online filing fee will be lower than the paper filing fee.
A full list of the fee changes, which will take effect April 1, 2024, can be found here. Please note that the fee changes announced in the final rule differ in various instances from those proposed in January 2023 (previously summarized here).
Please note that the above is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. For specific questions about how the filing fee increases may apply to your circumstances, please contact your team at D&S.