EB-2 NIW fees: the petition is paid for once, the green card once per person

The national interest waiver has no single price. The petition and its asylum program fee are paid once, by whoever files; the green-card step is paid again for each spouse and child, and premium processing speeds up the petition only.

A family of four pays the petition charges once and the green-card charges four times. A quote priced "per NIW" can therefore leave most of the government's bill outside the figure it shows.

Who files changes the first part. The asylum program fee comes on top of the petition fee, and its rate depends on the filer. A person filing for themselves pays the reduced rate, the one set for small employers, those with 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees in the United States, affiliates included. An employer with more staff pays twice that, and a nonprofit, such as a university, pays nothing.

Where you finish changes the second part. The range above covers the petition fee, the reduced asylum program fee and one person's green-card step. The lower end finishes abroad: a State Department visa fee, then a fee to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) once the visa is issued. The upper end finishes inside the United States, by adjustment of status for someone aged 14 or over. A child under 14 filing with a parent pays a lower adjustment fee.

When the second part falls due

Adjustment can be filed only when the chart USCIS uses that month shows your priority date as current, and for some countries of birth that comes years after the petition is approved. The fee owed is the one in force when you file, not when you were quoted.

Premium processing is optional. It buys a faster answer on the petition and does nothing to move that wait.

What the government takes and what the firm takes

Paid to the US government:

• The petition fee and the asylum program fee, once.
• For each person: the visa fee and the USCIS fee abroad, or the adjustment fee in the United States, plus any work or travel permit filed alongside it.
• Premium processing, only if you choose it.

Charged by the firm:

• The attorney's fee for the petition, and any separate fee for the green-card stage or for each family member.

Questions to put to the attorney before you sign:

1. Who is the petitioner, you or an employer, and which asylum program rate does that mean?
2. Will you finish at a consulate abroad or inside the United States, and is the quote priced for that route?
3. How many people does the green-card stage cover, and is each person's government fee counted?
4. Does the attorney's fee still cover the green-card stage if your priority date takes years to come up?
5. If premium processing is in the quote, does the firm say it speeds up the petition alone?

An immigration law firm's fee agreement for the petition, or its quote for the family's green-card stage, is what the box below checks: answer yes first, and its lines are set against the published US fee rules and the prices firms on file publish for this route. With only a figure, answer no and enter the total you were quoted. The check compares a document or a figure with the published rules, and does not look at your application or advise on it; for advice on your own case, speak to an immigration attorney or an accredited representative.

General information, not legal advice.