The following fees apply to the EB-2 Special Handling Labor Certification process:
ISSS Fee
ISSS charges an administrative fee payable by University EFS. The department must pay this fee and it cannot be recouped from the faculty member.
- Effective July 1, 2024: $4,200
This charge is split between two points in the process. Approximately 1/3 ($1,400) is charged when the Prevailing Wage Request is submitted (part 1a of this process). The remaining 2/3 ($2,800) is charged when the Labor Certification is submitted to the Department of Labor (part 1b of this process).
There are no government filing fees for the Prevailing Wage Request or the Labor Certification, so the ISSS fee represents only the staff time and effort involved in preparing an EB-2 special handling labor certification green card application. (This includes preparing and filing the Form I-140).
USCIS Fees
USCIS fees are required at the later stages of the permanent residency application process (part 2 of this process).
- $715: Form I-140 filing fee (must be paid by the department if pursuing EB-2 special handling labor certification)
- $2,805: Premium Processing filing fee (optional; may be paid by department or employee)
- Premium Processing is an expedited service that is available for I-140 petitions. USCIS guarantees that within 15 days they will issue either a final adjudication decision or a Request for Evidence (RFE). If USCIS fails to process the petition within 15 days, it will refund the fee. Premium Processing may be requested simultaneously with the USCIS petition or at a later date, if necessary.
- $1,440: Form I-485 filing fee (may be paid by department or employee)
- Required for each applicant, including any family members that are applying for permanent residency along with the U of MN employee. If paying by check, the check should be made payable to the Department of Homeland Security.
Effective July 1, 2024, ISSS will handle the USCIS check request process for all I-140 petitions filed by our office. The I-140 application fee amounts will be charged back to the department through EFS.
