Filing-fee changes: what they mean for your petition
6 min readLegal Prep
USCIS is fee-funded, so it revises its fee schedule periodically rather than on a fixed calendar. When a revision lands it changes what you owe, and it changes it on the date USCIS says, not the date you started preparing. A petition that was correct in every other way gets rejected if the payment is written against the old schedule.
The forms we prepare most
These come straight from the current published fee schedule, and this page updates when USCIS revises it.
| Form | Online filing | Paper filing |
|---|---|---|
| I-130 | $625 | $675 |
| I-485 | $1,390 | $1,440 |
| N-400 | $710 | $760 |
| I-765 | $470 | $520 |
| I-751 | $700 | $750 |
| I-90 | $415 | $465 |
USCIS fee schedule, form G-1055 edition 05/29/26, published May 29, 2026.
USCIS updates its fee schedule without notice. Confirm current fees on USCIS.gov before you file, or ask us and we'll check them with you.
Filing online costs less
Nearly every form now has two prices, and the online one is lower. On an adjustment-of-status package the gap is real money. If you are eligible to file online and have no reason to file on paper, that is the cheaper route.
There are reasons to file on paper anyway. Requesting a fee waiver or a reduced fee requires it, so those applicants pay the paper price. Some categories cannot file online at all. And the headline number is rarely the whole cost: an adjustment package usually bundles more than one form, so budget for the package you are actually filing rather than the single form you have in mind.
Filing this year?
We'll prepare it right the first time, in English or Spanish.
What to check before you pay
- The effective date of the current schedule, and whether your filing will be received before or after it
- Every form in your package, not just the main one
- Whether your category has a reduced fee: some categories and some applicants under a certain age pay less
- The payment method the form instructions accept, and who the payment must be made out to
- Whether you qualify for a fee waiver, which is a separate request filed alongside
A rejected filing is not a denial, but it costs time
If the fee is wrong, USCIS returns the package unfiled. Nothing is decided against you, but your filing date moves to whenever you re-send it, which matters in any category where your place in line is set by that date.
Related
Timelines & fees
Fee waivers: who qualifies for form I-912
The income thresholds, the benefit-based route, and what to file with it.
Form how-to guides
I-130 evidence checklist: proving a bona fide marriage
The documents officers actually look for, and common gaps.