The Department of Homeland Security plans to publish a Final Rule tomorrow that will increase the Premium Processing filing fee from $1,225 to $1,410 for petitions filed on or after October 1, 2018.
The premium processing fee was last increased in 2010 and therefore DHS is increasing the fee based on inflation.
USCIS intends to use the premium funds that are generated by the fee increase to provide certain premium-processing services to business customers, and to make infrastructure improvements in the adjudications and customer-service processes. In recent years, premium processing has been suspended on employment-based petitions to permit officers working on premium processing cases to process long-pending nonpremium filed petitions as well as to prevent a lapse in employment authorization for beneficiaries of extension petitions resulting from the high volume of incoming petitions and a significant surge in premium processing requests. The additional staff hired through the premium funds will allow USCIS to provide premium processing service with less disruption and improve the adjudications and customer service process. USCIS also plans to make adequate investment in information technology systems that will improve the adjudications process and the services provided to applicants and petitioners.
DHS is making this fee increase final without notice and comment because it is “unnecessary”. According to DHS, it may adjust the premium processing fee for inflation according to the Consumer Price Index. DHS claims the amount of the increase would not be changed by public comment. DHS claims it has the sole exercise of discretion, as a matter of internal agency management. Therefore, the agency believes further delay of this regulation change to solicit public comments is unnecessary.
On average, USCIS received 238,784 Forms I-907 annually from fiscal year 2013 to 2017:
2013 189,588
2014 218,400
2015 234,576
2016 319,517
2017 231,839
Average 238,784
DHS estimates an additional annual $44 million in revenue to be collected from the increase in premium processing fees due to adjustment of inflation.
An advanced copy of the Federal Register announcement is available at: https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2018-19108.pdf
The final copy of the published rule is now available at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/08/31/2018-19108/adjustment-to-premium-processing-fee