US Premium Visa Fee Hike – Why and Who Will Be Affected?

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a hike in the fee for premium processing of work and investment visas, including the H-1B visa. The faster processing will help applicants to receive faster decisions, important for job start dates, business investments and international transfers. The higher fee will be effective from March 1, 2026.

Premium processing is an optional service offered by the USCIS enabling faster outcome, within a fixed number of days. However, premium processing does not guarantee approval. It only gives applicants certainty on timelines.

Under the revised fee structure, the cost of premium processing for many non-immigrant worker petitions filed under Form I-129 has been hiked. This category includes a wide range of commonly used visas, including H-1B, the E-1 treaty trader visa, the E-2 treaty investor visa, E-3 for Australian professionals, L-1 for intra-company transfers, and other work-related classifications.

The premium processing fee was increased to $3,000 dollars per petition, from the earlier $2,800. The amount applies to premium processing of Form I-140 used for employment-based green card petitions under EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 categories.

The Trump administration said that the hike in the fee is the result of an inflation adjustment required under the USCIS Stabilisation Act. The new hike in the processing fee would hit some temporary worker and religious workers petitions.

The hike will also effect employers in technology, engineering, finance and healthcare sectors, relying on foreign talent. The hike in fee will raise the cost of hiring or transferring overseas workers in a fast manner.

Entrepreneurs and investors using E-1 and E-2 visas will also be impacted by the hike in the processing fee. Students will also witness a hike in what they pay as they apply for employment authorization or status extension.

Any petition marked before March 1 will be accepted with the old fee. The fee hike emphasizes the growing cost of fast-tracking immigration services in the US. The premium processing is preferred by many as it gives certainty and speed.