The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has published a final rule to increase premium processing fees for various immigration benefit requests. This adjustment, mandated biennially by the USCIS Stabilization Act to account for inflation, will take effect on March 1, 2026. The new fees will apply to all premium processing requests postmarked on or after this date. Key changes in premium processing fees include an increase for Form I-129 petitions for H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN, and E-3 nonimmigrant classifications from $2,805 to $2,965. Similarly, premium processing for Form I-140 employment-based immigrant petitions will also rise from $2,805 to $2,965. For H-2B and R-1 nonimmigrant statuses, the fee increases from $1,685 to $1,780. Additionally, Form I-539 applications to extend or change nonimmigrant status (covering F-1, F-2, J-1, J-2, M-1, and M-2 categories) will see an increase from $1,965 to $2,075, and Form I-765 applications for employment authorization (including OPT and STEM OPT) will go up from $1,685 to $1,780. These fee adjustments are based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) from June 2023 through June 2025, reflecting an average increase of approximately 5.7%. USCIS states that the revenue generated from these higher fees will be utilized to enhance its operational efficiency, improve adjudication processes, address existing application backlogs, and fund general adjudication and naturalization services. The announcement is particularly significant for Indian nationals, who constitute a large proportion of H-1B and other employment-based visa applicants, making proactive immigration planning crucial for those affected.