What is the I-130 filing fee?

The petition fee in one line

The I-130 is the form a U.S. citizen or permanent resident uses to establish a qualifying family relationship with a foreign national relative. The regulation that sets its fee is short: 8 CFR 106.2(a)(6) says that for filing a petition to classify the status of a foreign national relative for issuance of an immigrant visa under section 204(a) of the Act, the fee is $675. The USCIS schedule, edition 10/26/26, prints one general row for the form, $675 on paper and $625 online, with no reduced or exempt rows beneath it. That stands out in a schedule where most forms carry a list of exceptions.

What the I-130 fee does not cover

The petition fee pays for the petition and nothing downstream. It does not pay for the green card application that follows, which for a relative already in the country is the I-485 covered on its own page in this set. It does not pay the USCIS immigrant fee in 8 CFR 106.2(c)(3), $235, which the regulation says is for domestic processing and issuance of documents after an immigrant visa is issued by the Department of State. Nor does it include Department of State visa fees, which belong to a different agency and a different schedule that this page does not read.

Fee waivers and exemptions

The I-130 is not named in the lists of forms whose fees can be waived in 8 CFR 106.3(a)(3)(i), (ii) or (iv), and the schedule prints no fee waiver line for it. VAWA self-petitions, the self-petitioning category, are a different form, the I-360, and are handled in 106.3(a)(3)(iii). So a family that cannot afford $675 should not assume a waiver exists; read the instructions for the form, and consult an attorney or an accredited representative if cost is the obstacle.

Online versus paper

Section 106.1(g) sets the online fee at $50 less than the amount in 106.2 unless the part says otherwise, and the I-130 row follows it: $625 online. The discount applies only when you use the electronic system USCIS prescribes for the form, so check the form page before you assume an online filing is available for your case type. The schedule also notes a filing at a USCIS office must be paid through pay.gov; cash is never accepted.

A neighbour that is easy to confuse

The fiance(e) petition, Form I-129F, has the same $675 base fee in 8 CFR 106.2(a)(5), which makes the two easy to conflate. The I-129F paragraph also has a carve-out: a K-3 spouse who is the beneficiary of an immigrant petition filed by a U.S. citizen on an I-130 pays no fee. The two forms serve different purposes, so confirm that you are reading the row for the form you are actually filing.

How the payment is made

The schedule says an incorrect fee means the petition will be rejected, so the payment method deserves a minute. For a paper filing by mail, fees can be paid by credit card with Form G-1450 or by a bank transfer with Form G-1650, unless the filer qualifies for an exemption from the electronic payment requirement and files Form G-1651. At a USCIS office, the fee goes through pay.gov by card or electronic funds transfer, and cash is never accepted. The I-130 row prints no additional line under Public Law 119-21 in the edition I read.

Why the base fee can move

The regulation does not freeze $675. Paragraph (d) of 8 CFR 106.2 allows the Department to adjust fees that are not set or limited by statute, not more than once a year, by publishing a rule that follows CPI-U inflation and rounds to the nearest $5. The schedule is the practical record of whichever amount is in force. A petition filed on a date after a new edition appears should be priced from that edition, not from a cached number.

Worked example

A U.S. citizen petitions for a spouse and files on paper. The I-130 fee is $675 under both sources. Filed online, the schedule row prints $625. If the spouse then adjusts status in the United States, the I-485 fee is a second, separate payment, and the page for that form explains the amounts. A family budget for this path therefore starts with the I-130 row and then adds each downstream form from its own row; the checker above reads the I-130 row exactly as printed.

Sources

• eCFR, 8 CFR § 106.2 USCIS fees (title 8, issue date October 14, 2026; eCFR up to date as of October 29, 2026). Read November 2, 2026.
• eCFR, 8 CFR § 106.3 Fee waivers and exemptions (title 8, issue date October 14, 2026; eCFR up to date as of October 29, 2026). Read November 2, 2026.
• eCFR, 8 CFR § 106.1 Definitions and online discount (title 8, issue date October 14, 2026; eCFR up to date as of October 29, 2026). Read November 2, 2026.
• USCIS Form G-1055, Fee Schedule, edition 10/26/26, and the G-1055 PDF. Read November 2, 2026.

Editions read: eCFR title 8 as of the October 14, 2026 issue date, and Form G-1055 edition 10/26/26. Both were read on November 2, 2026. Fees in this area changed repeatedly in 2024, 2025 and 2026; where the two sources differ, this page says so and does not choose between them. If you need to rely on an amount, confirm it with the official USCIS fee calculator on the day you file, and talk to an immigration attorney or accredited representative about your own case.