News

Increase in USCIS filing fee for Form I-129

USCIS announced in the Federal Register that the fees for some USCIS forms will increase on October 2^nd, including the fee for Form I-129 [Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker]. When filed in connection with an H-1B application, the I-129 fee will increase from $460 to $555. The fee increase is expected* to go into effect on October 2, 2020*. H-1B petitions filed on or after October 2, 2020 must be accompanied by the new fee. In addition to the increased fee, USCIS also announced Premium Processing will take up to 15 business days, instead of the previous 15 calendar days. There is no increase in the Premium Processing fee at this time.

New H-1B requests will be subject to the new I-129 fee. Cases already in process with an OIS advisor may be subject to the new fee if the case is not complete and ready to file with USCIS by 09/30/2020. If your Department has submitted USCIS filing fees to the OIS in connection with an H-1B case, the OIS advisor assigned to the case will notify you if the new I-129 fee will be required. While we expect* the fee to increase on October 2^nd, the American Immigration Lawyers Association [AILA] filed suit against USCIS challenging the fee increase. The OIS will provide further updates if USCIS announces a delay or suspension of this planned fee increase.