Premium processing: who pays to have a case decided on a deadline
On I-129 cases, 16.8% of premium-processing requests as of June 30, 2026 were filed while the case was already pending, up from 7.5% a year earlier.
More applicants overall paid to expedite a case that was already in the queue, rather than filing the request at the same time as the underlying application.
16.8%
I-129 already-pending share
As of June 30, 2026
231,641
Total premium-processing requests
As of June 30, 2026
22.6%
Overall already-pending share
As of June 30, 2026
| Quarter ending | Requests filed | Filed while the case was already pending | Share filed while already pending |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 30, 2025 | 126,998 | 9,541 | 7.5% |
| June 30, 2026 | 154,600 | 26,041 | 16.8% |
The share and the count move for different reasons: the share rises when the total falls faster than the already-pending part, which is not more people paying to leave a queue. Only the same quarter in each year is drawn, because this table follows the filing calendar.
The share of I-129 premium-processing requests filed on an already-pending case rose 9.3 percentage points over the year, from 7.5% as of June 30, 2025 to 16.8% as of June 30, 2026.
| Quarter ending | Premium-processing requests filed |
|---|---|
| June 30, 2025 | 192,524 |
| June 30, 2026 | 231,641 |
Only the same quarter in each year is drawn. This table follows the filing calendar — the H-1B cap window opens on April 1 and falls inside one fiscal quarter — so neighbouring quarters differ by the calendar more than by anything USCIS did, and USCIS publishes no seasonally adjusted figure.
Total premium-processing filings grew by 39,117 between June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2026.
| Case the request was filed on | Requests | Filed while the case was already pending | Share filed while already pending |
|---|---|---|---|
| I-765 cases | 38,652 | 17,397 | 45.0% |
| I-140 cases | 34,563 | 8,295 | 24.0% |
| I-539 cases | 3,826 | 719 | 18.8% |
| I-129 cases | 154,600 | 26,041 | 16.8% |
A request filed while the case was already pending is someone paying after they were already in line. The file says nothing about why, and nothing about how long any of these cases had waited.
Across forms, the share of requests filed on an already-pending case ranged from 16.8% to 45.0% as of June 30, 2026.
| Quarter ending | Requests filed | Filed while the case was already pending | Share filed while already pending |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 30, 2025 | 31,199 | 3,985 | 12.8% |
| June 30, 2026 | 34,563 | 8,295 | 24.0% |
The share and the count move for different reasons: the share rises when the total falls faster than the already-pending part, which is not more people paying to leave a queue. Only the same quarter in each year is drawn, because this table follows the filing calendar.
On I-140 cases, the share filed on an already-pending case climbed 11.2 percentage points over the year, from 12.8% as of June 30, 2025 to 24.0% as of June 30, 2026.
Before you use these numbers
- The file records when a premium-processing request was filed, not how long the underlying case had already been waiting.
- It does not say why an applicant chose to pay for premium processing after a case was already pending, only that they did.
- Shares can rise even when the underlying count falls, because a share compares two moving numbers rather than measuring growth in either one.
- Only the same quarter is compared across years here, since filing volumes follow a calendar that differs sharply from quarter to quarter within a year.
Form I-907 premium-processing requests, by the form each request was filed on
| Form the request was filed on | What that form is | Filed with the application | Filed while it was pending | All requests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I-129 | Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker | 128,559 | 26,041 | 154,600 |
| I-765 | Application for Employment Authorization | 21,255 | 17,397 | 38,652 |
| I-140 | Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers | 26,268 | 8,295 | 34,563 |
| I-539 | Application To Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status | 3,107 | 719 | 3,826 |
| All forms | — | 179,189 | 52,452 | 231,641 |