I-140 Filing Fee: What It Costs to File in 2026

Written by the Ellis Porter content team. This article has not been reviewed by an attorney. It is general information, not legal advice.

In plain English: Filing Form I-140 costs $715 by mail or $665 online, plus a separate Asylum Program Fee of $600, $300, or nothing, depending on who is filing. If you are petitioning for yourself through the NIW or EB-1A, you pay the $300 tier, so a paper filing comes to $1,015 in government fees. Premium processing is optional and costs another $2,965. Lawyer fees are separate from all of these. USCIS changes fees from time to time, so check the current fee schedule before you pay.

The short answer, before the details

If you are budgeting for a green card petition, you probably want one number. The honest answer is that the I-140 has three possible government charges, and which ones you pay depends on who is filing and how fast you want a decision. Here is each piece in plain terms.

As of the current USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055, edition 10/07/26), filing Form I-140 involves:

Fee	Amount	Who pays it
Base filing fee	$715 paper, $665 online	Every petitioner
Asylum Program Fee	$600	Most employers
Asylum Program Fee (reduced)	$300	Small employers and self-petitioners
Asylum Program Fee (exempt)	$0	Qualifying nonprofits
Premium processing (Form I-907)	$2,965	Only if you request it

The base fee is set by regulation at 8 CFR 106.2, which lists $715 for Form I-140. Attorney fees are a separate cost and are not part of any of these numbers. If you are new to the petition itself, our guide to what an I-140 is covers how it fits into the green card process.

What does a self-petitioner pay for an NIW or EB-1A I-140?

A self-petitioner filing an EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) or an EB-1A extraordinary ability petition pays $1,015 in government fees for a paper filing: the $715 base fee plus the $300 reduced Asylum Program Fee. Filing online lowers the base fee to $665, for a total of $965.

The reduced tier is not something you apply for separately. On the Form I-140 page, USCIS explains that questions 5 and 6 in Part 1 of the form decide which Asylum Program Fee applies, and it tells self-petitioners to answer No to question 5 (nonprofit or government research status) and Yes to question 6 (the employee-count question). That places a self-petitioner in the same $300 tier as a small employer. The fee schedule lists the tier as "Small Employer or self-petitioner."

USCIS also notes that if you send the full $600 and do not indicate that you qualify for the reduced fee, it will accept the full payment. In other words, answering those two questions correctly is how you avoid overpaying.

If you are weighing which self-petition fits your record, our comparison of EB-1A and the NIW walks through the trade-offs. The fees are the same for both.

How does the Asylum Program Fee work?

The Asylum Program Fee is a separate charge, created by regulation, that petitioners pay on top of the I-140 filing fee. Under 8 CFR 106.2, it applies to any petitioner filing Form I-140 (and certain nonimmigrant worker petitions), and the amount depends on who the petitioner is:

• $600 for most petitioners.
• $300 for a small employer.
• No fee for a nonprofit.

The definitions are in 8 CFR 106.1(f). A small employer is "a firm or individual that has 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees in the United States, including any affiliates and subsidiaries." A nonprofit covers nonprofit primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations, and governmental research organizations.

Two details trip people up. First, the count includes affiliates and subsidiaries, so a small US office of a larger group may not qualify as a small employer. Second, the regulation states that the online filing discount does not apply to the Asylum Program Fee. Filing online saves $50 on the base fee only.

What does premium processing cost for an I-140?

Premium processing for Form I-140 costs $2,965, requested on Form I-907, under the current fee schedule. It is optional, and it is paid in addition to all other filing fees. The fee schedule also says the premium processing fee must be submitted separately from your other filing fees.

What you buy is a deadline for USCIS to act, not a faster green card. According to the USCIS page on how to request premium processing, USCIS guarantees it will take action within:

I-140 category	Premium processing window
EB-1A (E11), EB-1B (E12), EB-2 without NIW (E21), EB-3 (E31, E32, EW3)	15 business days
EB-2 NIW (E21 NIW) and EB-1C multinational managers (E13)	45 business days

If USCIS misses the window, it refunds the premium processing fee. "Action" can mean an approval, a denial, a request for evidence, or a notice of intent to deny. If USCIS asks for more evidence, the clock stops and starts again when your response arrives.

Note that these are business days, not calendar days. Several fee guides online say "15 calendar days," and some miss that NIW petitions get the longer 45-business-day window. For the full picture of what premium processing changes for an NIW, see our guide to NIW premium processing.

One practical rule from the I-140 page: if you file Form I-907 together with a new Form I-140, you must file by mail. If your I-140 is already pending, you can request premium processing later with a standalone Form I-907.

Who pays the I-140 fees?

It depends on who the petitioner is.

• Self-petitions (NIW and EB-1A): you are the petitioner, so you pay the fees yourself.
• Employer petitions (EB-1B, EB-1C, EB-2 with PERM, EB-3): the employer is the petitioner and files the form.

For employer cases built on a PERM labor certification, a federal labor rule matters. Under 20 CFR 656.12(b), an employer must not seek or receive payment of any kind for any activity related to obtaining permanent labor certification, including the employer’s attorneys’ fees. That rule covers the labor certification stage. How the I-140 filing fees themselves are handled in an employer case is often set by company policy, so it is worth asking your employer directly before you assume either way.

How do you pay the I-140 fee?

Under the current USCIS fee schedule, fees for paper filings are paid by credit card using Form G-1450 or by bank account withdrawal (ACH) using Form G-1650, unless you qualify for an exemption from electronic payment using Form G-1651. Online filings are paid inside your USCIS account during submission.

USCIS regulations require every form that carries a fee to be submitted with the correct fee, and a filing that does not comply may be rejected, which means refiling with the correct amount. Before you send anything, compare your total against the current edition of Form G-1055.

Fees change: how to stay current

USCIS adjusts fees through rulemaking and publishes new editions of the fee schedule. The Fee Schedule page carries alerts when amounts change, and it shows the current edition date. The figures on this page come from the 10/07/26 edition. If you are filing later, check that page on the day you file, because a petition sent with an outdated fee can be rejected.

The fee is also only one part of planning. Timing matters just as much, and our guides to EB-2 NIW processing time and EB-1A processing time explain how long each stage takes.

Planning the full cost of your petition

The government fees above are fixed by USCIS, but your total cost also depends on whether you use an attorney, whether you request premium processing, and what comes after the I-140, such as adjustment of status or consular processing, which carry their own fees.

If you are considering an NIW or EB-1A and want a clear picture of the whole cost and the right timing for your case, a licensed Ellis Porter attorney can walk through it with you. You can learn more about our NIW practice or EB-1A practice.

This article is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Fees and processing rules change; confirm current amounts on the USCIS fee schedule before filing, and consult a licensed immigration attorney about your case.

Frequently asked questions

What is the I-140 filing fee in 2026?

The base filing fee for Form I-140 is $715 for a paper filing or $665 when filed online, according to the USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055, edition 10/07/26). Most petitioners also owe a separate Asylum Program Fee of $600, $300 for small employers and self-petitioners, or no fee for qualifying nonprofits. Premium processing, if requested, adds $2,965.

How much is the I-140 fee for an NIW or EB-1A self-petition?

A self-petitioner pays the $715 base fee for a paper filing ($665 online) plus a $300 Asylum Program Fee. USCIS instructs self-petitioners to answer the employee-count question in a way that places them in the reduced tier. That makes the government cost $1,015 on paper or $965 online, before any premium processing or attorney fees.

What is the Asylum Program Fee on the I-140?

It is a separate fee, set by 8 CFR 106.2, that employment petitioners pay in addition to the I-140 filing fee to help fund the asylum program. It is $600 for most petitioners, $300 for small employers with 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees in the United States and for self-petitioners, and $0 for qualifying nonprofits. The online filing discount does not apply to it.

How much is I-140 premium processing?

The premium processing fee for an I-140, requested on Form I-907, is $2,965 under the current USCIS fee schedule. It is paid in addition to all other filing fees and submitted separately. USCIS guarantees action within 15 business days for most I-140 categories and within 45 business days for NIW and multinational manager petitions, or it refunds the fee.

Who should pay the I-140 fees?

In an NIW or EB-1A self-petition, you file and pay yourself. In an employer case, the employer is the petitioner, and federal labor rules bar an employer from passing the costs of the earlier PERM labor certification on to the worker. How the I-140 fees themselves are split in an employer case is often set by company policy, so ask before you assume.

How do I pay the I-140 fee?

Under the current USCIS fee schedule, fees for paper filings are paid by credit card using Form G-1450 or by bank account withdrawal (ACH) using Form G-1650, unless you qualify for an exemption from electronic payment using Form G-1651. Online filings are paid through your USCIS account during submission.

Do I pay the I-140 fee again if I file a new petition?

Yes. Each Form I-140 is a separate petition with its own fees, so filing a second petition, for example an EB-1A after an NIW, means paying the base fee and the applicable Asylum Program Fee again. An approved earlier petition can still matter for your priority date, which is a separate question.