On Wednesday, September 30, the U.S. Congress passed, and the President signed into law the Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act which provided for new and increased premium processing fees coupled with an authorized expansion of the case types eligible for premium processing.  On Friday, October 16, USCIS announced partial implementation of the law.   

Beginning Monday, October 19, USCIS will collect the new, higher premium processing filing fee for premium processing requests postmarked on or after October 19, including those for H-1B, L-1, O-1, and TN.  Filing fees will increase from $1,440 to $2,500 for benefit requests that are already eligible for premium processing services, except for H-2B and R-1 petitions.  H-2B and R-1 petitions will see an increased premium processing filing fee from $1,440 to $1,500.  The new filing fee applies to all case types for which premium processing is currently available.   

While acknowledging the law permits premium processing for additional types of petitions and applications, USCIS has elected not to expand premium processing to other case types at this time. 

Foster will continue to monitor government action related to the availability and associated fees for premium processing and other immigration services and will make future updates regarding USCIS fee implementation available via our firm’s website at www.fosterglobal.com.