The current fee is $1,685.

Premium processing provides expedited processing for a fee. USCIS guarantees that they will take some adjudicative action on the case within the following time period, or they will refund the premium processing fee:

• 30 calendar days for Form I-765 for F-1 students seeking OPT or STEM OPT extensions from the time USCIS receives the Form I-907 and payment for premium processing
• If additional evidence is requested for your application, the premium processing time period will stop and reset. A new premium processing time period will begin when USCIS receives a response to the request for evidence. Once the application is approved, students should expect another two weeks for the EAD card to arrive.  Premium processing does not expedite the creation and/or shipment of the EAD card.

ISSS recommends students give careful consideration prior to submitting a premium processing application to USCIS. Given current USCIS processing times, it may not be necessary to file for premium processing. ISSS encourages students to consider current processing times, when their OPT application was received by USCIS, their requested OPT start date, and employment start dates.

You can check USCIS’s OPT processing time by going to the USCIS processing times website, selecting “I-765 Application for Employment Authorization” under “Form”, selecting “Based on a request by a qualified F-1 academic student [(c)(3)]” under “Form Category”, and selecting “Potomac Service Center” under “Field Office or Service Center.” There you will be able to see their estimated time range for processing OPT applications.

USCIS provides instructions for premium processing. If you are requesting premium processing for a pending Form I-765 submit your Form I-907 either online or as a paper file. Go to Filing Form I-907 to Upgrade a Pending Form I-765 page to see where you should file your application. 

If you previously filed a paper Form I-765 and want to file Form I-907 online to request premium processing, please reference the USCIS Account Access Notice you received for the Online Access Code and details on how to link your paper-filed cases to your online account. If you do not link your paper-filed Form I-765, you will not be able to file your Form I-907 online and will need to file a paper Form I-907 with the Chicago lockbox.