NIW costs: $1,015 for the first envelope, and every fee after it

The National Interest Waiver requires no investment and no employer paying your way. What remains are fees set by USCIS and the State Department, plus costs nobody sets: translations, evaluations, the medical exam, representation. This guide covers every government fee from the first filing to the green card, works them out for individuals and families, and shows where the bill stays open.

Anyone considering the EB-2 NIW asks about money early on. The good news: the National Interest Waiver has no minimum investment, and the government fees are modest and public. The less good news: they come in two stages, differ per person, and come with costs no agency sets. This guide walks through both stages, works out typical cases and shows where payment mistakes cost more than the fee itself. All amounts are in US dollars and apply as of October 2026.

1What is fixed and what isn't

The fixed part is the USCIS fees listed in fee schedule G-1055 and the State Department's immigrant visa fees, set out in a department regulation. They are the same for everyone, however strong or weak a petition is. How much you pay depends on which forms you need, whether you file on paper or online, whether you choose Premium Processing and whether your family comes along.

Not fixed are all the costs charged by third parties: translations of your documents, evaluations of foreign degree equivalency, the medical exam, travel to the interview and legal representation. No agency publishes a table for these. Our own fees are on the service pages, not in this guide; for an overview, see Services & Fees.

Important for planning: government fees change from time to time. The Premium Processing fee rose from $2,805 to $2,965 on March 1, 2026. What counts is always the schedule in force on the day you file.

2The petition: I-140 and Asylum Program Fee

The first stage is the petition, Form I-140. It costs $715 if you file on paper and $665 through a USCIS online account. The fee schedule itself notes that filing online is often $50 cheaper. You pay for the I-140 once. Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 don't need their own petition; they can follow as family members once it is approved.

On top of the I-140 comes the Asylum Program Fee, which USCIS charges on every petition of this kind. The amount depends on who files. If you file as a self-petitioner, as is usual with the NIW, you pay $300. If an employer files for you, it pays $600, unless it has no more than 25 full-time equivalent employees in the US, including affiliates; then it is also $300. Nonprofit employers pay nothing. For founders whose own US company is meant to file the petition, this detail has consequences; more in the guide NIW for entrepreneurs and founders.

So as a self-petitioner, the petition costs $1,015 on paper or $965 online. That's the first envelope, and for many applicants it's the cheapest part of the journey.

3Premium Processing: speed for a fee

With Form I-907 you can request Premium Processing. It costs $2,965 and is paid separately from the other fees. Since January 30, 2023, it has been open to all NIW petitions, new and pending alike. USCIS then commits to act within 45 business days: approve, deny, request evidence or issue a notice of intent to deny.

Two rules decide what you get for your money. First: if the agency requests evidence, the clock stops and starts over with your response. So Premium Processing buys speed, not approval. Second: if USCIS misses the deadline, its regulation says it refunds the fee and keeps processing the case, with some exceptions.

A detail that affects the price: if you file the I-140 together with the I-907, both have to go by mail, and you lose the online discount for the I-140. If the I-140 is already filed through your online account, you can add Premium Processing later. Whether the fee is worth it depends less on the fee itself than on the second clock, visa availability; the guide on processing times, Premium Processing and the priority date explains how they connect.

4The consular route

If you live in Europe, the usual route after an approved petition runs through the National Visa Center and a US consulate or embassy in your home country. Each person applying for an immigrant visa pays the State Department $345, the fee for employment-based immigrant visas. Once the visa is issued, each person also pays the USCIS Immigrant Fee of $235. Without it, USCIS won't send the green card. The agency recommends paying it online after you pick up the visa and before you fly.

Before the visa comes the medical exam. Every applicant, whatever their age, is examined by a doctor chosen from a list approved by the consulate. This exam isn't in the State Department fee table; it's a separate item to budget for.

One item many people expect, and which usually doesn't apply to a self-filed NIW, is the Affidavit of Support on Form I-864. In employment-based cases, USCIS only requires it if a relative who is a US citizen or permanent resident filed the petition or owns at least 5 percent of the filing company. If you file the petition yourself, neither applies, and the $120 review fee the State Department charges for an affidavit reviewed domestically doesn't arise.

5The adjustment of status route in the US

If you already live in the US lawfully, say on an L-1 or E-2, you can apply for the green card from within the country with Form I-485 as soon as a visa is available to you. The I-485 costs $1,440 on paper or $1,390 online per person aged 14 or over. Children under 14 who file their I-485 together with a parent's pay $950 or $900. The consular visa fees and the USCIS Immigrant Fee don't apply on this route.

Two applications are optional but matter to many families. The work permit on Form I-765 costs $260 if your I-485 was filed with a fee on or after April 1, 2024, and is still pending. The travel permit on Form I-131, known as advance parole, costs $630 on paper or $580 online. If you want to work or travel while the case is pending, budget for both per adult.

The medical exam is part of this route too, with a civil surgeon, the doctor in the US who completes and seals Form I-693. USCIS charges no fee for Form I-693; the doctor sets the price for the exam, and prices vary. How the two routes work in practice is covered in the guide The process: I-140, consulate or adjustment of status.

6What your family costs

You pay for the petition once; every person pays the second stage. That gives a simple rule of thumb: on the consular route, add $580 per family member to the petition, $345 for the visa and $235 for the green card. With adjustment of status it's $1,440 per adult on paper, $950 per child under 14 filing with a parent, plus work and travel permits where adults want to work or travel.

The table at the end of this section works through five typical cases. It shows that for a family the consular route is usually cheaper than adjustment of status in the US, because the per-person fees are lower. But the choice between routes is rarely about money. It depends on where you live, which visa you hold in the US and whether you need to work and travel during the process.

One point needs special care with families: children who turn 21 during the process, and changes in marital status. The National Visa Center wants to know about them because they can change eligibility. A child who ages out triggers no fee but may need a separate route. So plan the sequence early.

7Costs no agency sets

On top of the fees come costs that depend on the market, on how much documentation you have and on your situation. We don't quote amounts for any of them here, but every one belongs in your budget.

• Translations. Every document in a language other than English needs a complete English translation with the translator's certification. An NIW petition with diplomas, employer letters, publications and contracts from your home country adds up quickly.
• Foreign credential evaluations. USCIS may take into account an evaluation by an independent evaluator if it is properly reasoned. It is advisory only; the officer makes the decision. More on this under NIW requirements.
• Evidence and letters. Recommendation letters rarely cost money, but they do cost time. If you need to obtain documents such as certified copies, register extracts or proof of patents, you pay the fees of the issuing office. Which letters carry weight is covered in the guide to recommendation letters for the NIW.
• The medical exam. Whether at the consulate or in the US, a separate cost for every person, children included.
• Travel. For the interview you travel to the responsible consulate; for adjustment of status, to the appointments USCIS schedules for you. With a family, that means several tickets and nights in a hotel.
• Representation. You can file an NIW yourself as a self-petitioner. If you are represented, you pay your representative's fee; it is the largest open item and varies widely.

8Paying without making mistakes

With government fees, getting the payment wrong can cost more than the fee itself. There are three rules from USCIS fee regulations you should know.

The fee must be correct. If it is wrong, USCIS rejects the filing. A rejected filing counts as never filed. For the NIW, your priority date depends on this: it is the day the complete petition with the fee is properly received.

The payment must clear. If a payment is not honored, USCIS issues no receipt notice, any receipt already issued becomes invalid, and the filing loses its receipt date. With several fees, this applies even if just one of them bounces, for example the Premium Processing fee.

The payment must come from the US. The regulation requires fees to be paid through a bank or other institution in the United States and in US dollars. If you file by mail, the fee schedule lets you pay by credit card using Form G-1450 or by bank debit using Form G-1650; the debit requires a US account. If you don't have a US account yet, sort it out before you file.

9If it doesn't work the first time

Filing fees are generally non-refundable, whatever the decision and however long it takes. Any refund is at the agency's discretion. For your planning, this means the fees for a denied petition are lost, and a denied petition does not establish a priority date either.

After a denial, a motion to reopen or reconsider or an appeal on Form I-290B costs $800. A new, stronger petition costs the same fees as the first: $715 or $665 plus $300 and, if you want it, another $2,965 for Premium Processing. Which route makes sense depends on the reasons for the denial; the guide NIW denied: reasons, RFEs and next steps walks through them.

So the cheapest petition isn't the one where you save on translations or evidence, but the one that succeeds the first time. How NIW fees compare with EB-1A fees is covered in our guide to EB-1A costs.

In short

• The I-140 petition costs $715 on paper or $665 online, plus the $300 Asylum Program Fee for self-petitioners; paid once for the whole family.
• Premium Processing costs $2,965 and is paid separately. If you request it together with the I-140, you file by mail and pay the paper price.
• At the consulate, each person pays $345 for the visa and the $235 USCIS Immigrant Fee; in the US, the I-485 costs $1,440 per person, or $950 for children under 14 filing with a parent.
• A family of four going through consular processing without Premium Processing pays $3,335 in government fees. Translations, evaluations, medical exams and representation come on top.
• Government fees are generally non-refundable, even after a denial.

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