What is the I-140 immigrant petition fee?

Base fee and online fee

The I-140 is the petition an employer, or in some categories the worker, files to classify a foreign national for employment-based permanent residence. The regulation, 8 CFR 106.2(a)(11), prints $715 for filing a petition to classify preference status based on profession or occupation under section 204(a) of the Act. The schedule, edition 10/26/26, prints $715 on paper and $665 online, again a $50 online discount under 8 CFR 106.1(g), and it adds the words "plus additional fees, if applicable". That phrase is the reason a single number is misleading for this form.

The Asylum Program Fee

The additional fee is in 8 CFR 106.2(c)(13). In addition to the fees for the I-129, the I-129CW and the I-140, the petitioner must pay an Asylum Program Fee of $600, to fund the asylum program. For petitions filed by a nonprofit, there is no fee, and for petitions filed by a small employer, the fee is $300. The online filing discount does not apply to this fee. The schedule restates the three tiers as regular petitioner $600, nonprofit $0, and small employer or self-petitioner $300.

That is a difference in wording between the sources worth stating plainly: the regulation says small employer; the schedule says small employer or self-petitioner. Both agree on $300. A worker who files their own petition should read the schedule row and the form instructions rather than infer which tier applies.

Premium processing is a third payment

Premium processing is optional and priced by category in 8 CFR 106.4(c). For the employment-based immigrant classifications it is $2,965, and the schedule prints the same for I-140 filings under EB-1, EB-2 (with or without a national interest waiver) and EB-3. The regulation's timeframes are 15 business days for most of those classifications and 45 business days for 203(b)(1)(C) and for 203(b)(2) petitions involving a waiver. The fee is paid in addition to the other fees, cannot be waived, and may need a separate remittance. The premium processing page in this set explains the refund rule.

What the I-140 fee does not buy

An approved I-140 does not make anyone a permanent resident; the I-485, if the person is in the United States, is a separate form with its own fee, discussed on its own page. When a visa number becomes available is a separate question, and this site has a visa bulletin checker and a priority date wait calculator for it. The job portability form, I-485J, is $0.

Who counts as a small employer or a nonprofit

The Asylum Program Fee tiers turn on two definitions in 8 CFR 106.1(f). A small employer is a firm or individual with 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees in the United States, including any affiliates and subsidiaries. A nonprofit includes primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education as defined in the Higher Education Act, organizations tax exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and governmental research organizations as defined in 8 CFR 214.2(h)(19)(iii)(C). Counting affiliates can move an employer across the 25-employee line.

Why the base fee can move

Paragraph (d) of 8 CFR 106.2 says fees not set or limited by statute may be adjusted no more than once a year, by a Federal Register rule based on CPI-U inflation, with results rounded to the nearest $5. That is the mechanism the regulation gives for changing a figure like $715. The schedule adds that Public Law 119-21 fees adjust each year as required by law. Either way, the employer should price a petition from the edition in force on the filing date.

Worked example

A mid-size employer files a petition for an employee online. The base is $665 online in the schedule. The employer is not a small employer or nonprofit, so the Asylum Program Fee is $600, bringing the government fees to $1,265 before any premium processing. If the same employer used premium processing for an EB-2 petition, add $2,965, for $4,230 in total from these three sources. A nonprofit university filing the same petition owes the base fee and no Asylum Program Fee. These are the figures the sources print; they omit attorney fees and any other cost.

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 § 106.4 Premium processing service (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.