I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers
The employment-based green card petition. An employer, or in some categories the worker, asks USCIS to classify the worker in the first, second, or third employment preference. Most EB-2 and EB-3 cases must be preceded by a certified PERM labour certification from the Department of Labor; EB-1 and national interest waiver cases skip that step.
- Fee
- $715 paper, $665 online, plus additional fees where applicable. $0 for Afghan and Iraqi special immigrants and their derivatives, for VAWA self-petitioners, and for abused spouses and children under the Cuban Adjustment Act or HRIFA.
- Fee waiver
- Available (Form I-912)
- Who files
- The sponsoring U.S. employer, or the worker in EB-1A extraordinary ability and EB-2 national interest waiver cases.
- Where to file
- Online through a USCIS account, or by mail to the service center named for the category.
- Processing time
- 1.2 months with premium processing, 3.7 months without (FY 2026 national medians through June 30, 2026)
Usually filed with
Part of these processes
What changed in 2025 and 2026
- Premium processing at $2,965 is available for EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 classifications. A worker with an I-140 approved for 180 days can change employers under AC21 portability using Form I-485J.
Official page. https://www.uscis.gov/i-140. Download the form there, never from a third-party site; check the edition date and fee before filing.