In early 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is implementing two separate fee updates that affect NIW applicants. One applies to regular filing fees, and the other applies specifically to premium processing. Although these changes happen close together in time, they are based on different legal authorities and serve different policy purposes. Understanding the distinction helps NIW filers see why these increases are happening and how USCIS structures its fee system.
Regular Filing Fee Updates Effective January 1, 2026
On December 31, 2025, USCIS published a new edition of Form G-1055, the official filing fees. This edition reflects inflation adjusted fees required under recent legislation. These updated fees apply starting January 1, 2026.
For NIW filers, the most relevant change is the Form I-140 filing fee. Under the new fee schedule there is a slight cost difference depending on how the petition is filed. Paper filed petitions are set at $715, while online filings, which recently became possible, are set at $665. In both cases, the asylum program fee is charged separately.
USCIS requires an asylum program fee for most employment-based immigrant petitions. For small employers and self-petitioners, this fee is set at $300. This fee remains the same as before the update. A small employer is defined as an organization that employs 25 or fewer full time equivalent employees in the United States. NIW applicants typically fall into the self-petitioner category, which means this $300 asylum fee applies.
From a policy perspective, USCIS has explained that these fees are inflation-based adjustments tied to congressional mandates. They are not discretionary increases tied to processing speed or adjudication priority. Instead, they are meant to preserve the real value of filing fees over time and ensure continued funding of immigration benefit processing.
Premium Processing Fee Increase Effective March 1, 2026
Separate from the regular filing fee update, USCIS is also increasing premium processing fees effective March 1, 2026. This change is authorized under the USCIS Stabilization Act, which allows the Department of Homeland Security to adjust premium processing fees every two years to account for inflation.
According to USCIS, the premium processing increase reflects inflation from June 2023 through June 2025. The agency has stated that revenue from this increase will be used specifically to support premium processing services, improve adjudication systems, address case backlogs, and fund broader USCIS adjudication and naturalization operations.
For NIW filers, this matters only if premium processing is requested. Any premium processing request postmarked on or after March 1, 2026, must include the new, higher fee of $2,965. Requests submitted before that date remain subject to the prior premium processing fee.
Why USCIS Separates These Fee Updates
One point that often causes confusion is why USCIS updates regular filing fees and premium processing fees on different schedules. The reason lies in how these fees are authorized by law.
Regular filing fees are adjusted agency wide through formal fee schedule updates. These changes apply broadly and are tied to statutory requirements related to immigration programs and inflation. Premium processing fees, on the other hand, are governed by a separate statute and are adjusted on a fixed two-year cycle.
From a policy standpoint, USCIS treats premium processing as an optional service with its own funding stream, while regular filing fees are part of the baseline cost of administering the immigration system.
What This Means for NIW Filers
For NIW applicants, these updates reflect a broader shift toward routine, inflation-based fee adjustments rather than long periods of unchanged costs followed by large increases. USCIS has been clear that future adjustments may continue on a regular basis.
While fee changes can be frustrating, they do not alter the legal standards for NIW eligibility or adjudication. They are administrative in nature and tied to how USCIS funds its operations, not to how officers evaluate NIW petitions.
Understanding this distinction helps NIW filers focus on what actually matters in their case, the proposed endeavor, the national interest analysis, and meeting the Dhanasar framework, rather than viewing fee updates as a change in substantive policy. Contact us for an evaluation to see if NIW is feasible for you.
Thath Kim II
US Attorney
Licensed in Oregon
11F 1108, Seocho-daero 77gil 17, Seocho-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea 06614