How to build a company immigration policy for HR and employers
11 mins read | Jul 21, 2026
The green card cost for an employment-based case in 2026 runs from roughly $3,000 to $6,000 in government fees alone, and the final number depends on which stage you reach, whether you finish inside the U.S. or at a consulate abroad, and how many people are on the case. That range covers filing fees only, so professional help and a required medical exam sit on top of it.
This is the honest total for someone who wants a real budget, not a fee glossary. An employment-based green card is not a single payment: it moves through separate stages, each with its own fee, and some of those fees are the employer's by rule while others fall to you. Below, we walk through every cost from the labor certification through the card in your hand, then land on a realistic total and explain what you actually pay. Family-based cases (the Form I-130 route) work differently and stay out of scope here.
How much a green card costs at a glance, by stage
An employment-based green card cost is best read stage by stage, because you rarely pay everything at once. Most cases move through a labor certification called PERM, then Form I-140 (the immigrant petition your employer files), and finally the green card itself, which you complete either inside the U.S. through adjustment of status or abroad through consular processing.
Here is the stage-by-stage picture in current 2026 government fees. Professional fees and the medical exam are covered in their own sections further down.
| Stage | What it is | Government fee | Who usually pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| PERM labor certification | Employer proves no qualified U.S. worker is available | No DOL filing fee (recruitment/ad costs apply) | Employer, by rule |
| Form I-140 | Immigrant petition filed with USCIS | $715 filing fee + Asylum Program Fee ($600 standard, $300 small employer, $0 nonprofit) | Employer or beneficiary, depending on category |
| Adjustment of status (Form I-485) | Green card applied for from inside the U.S. | $1,440 per applicant (biometrics included) | Beneficiary |
| Consular processing (DS-260 route) | Immigrant visa applied for at a U.S. consulate abroad | $345 DOS processing fee + $235 USCIS Immigrant Fee per person | Beneficiary |
The single biggest swing in the total is the final stage: finishing inside the U.S. with Form I-485 costs more per person than the consular route, but the routes carry different practical trade-offs that we break down below. The category you fall into, EB-2 or EB-3, does not change these filing fees, though it can change how long you wait and therefore when the money goes out. For a fuller employer-side walkthrough of these same stages, see our guide on how an employer-sponsored green card works, and for the broader cost picture across work visas and green cards, our U.S. work visa cost breakdown sits one level up as the cost pillar.
Fees and processing times are current as of July 2026. USCIS and the Department of State update these periodically, so check the USCIS fee schedule and the Department of State visa fees page for the latest figures.
PERM and Form I-140 costs, and who pays them
The first two stages of an employment-based green card, PERM and Form I-140, carry costs that fall mostly on the employer by rule, so as the beneficiary you may pay little or nothing here. PERM, which stands for Program Electronic Review Management, is a labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proving the employer tried to recruit U.S. workers and none qualified. There is no DOL filing fee for PERM itself, but the required newspaper ads, job postings, and recruitment steps carry real costs, and federal rules require the employer to cover those PERM recruitment expenses. You cannot legally reimburse the employer for them.
Once PERM is certified, your employer files Form I-140, the Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The I-140 filing fee is $715. On top of that, most employers pay an Asylum Program Fee that USCIS added in the 2024 fee rule: $600 for a standard employer, $300 for a small employer with 25 or fewer full-time employees, and $0 for a nonprofit or an institution of higher education. So the I-140 stage costs a standard employer $1,315 in government fees, a small employer $1,015, and a nonprofit $715.
Who pays the I-140 depends on the category. In an employer-sponsored EB-2 or EB-3 case, the employer files and typically pays. In self-petition categories where no employer is required, such as the EB-2 National Interest Waiver (a waiver for advanced-degree professionals whose work benefits the U.S.) or the EB-1A extraordinary ability green card, the applicant files and pays their own I-140. This post maps the employer-sponsored PERM journey; if you are self-petitioning, the earlier PERM stage simply drops away.
If you want the I-140 examined form by form, our Form I-140 guide covers eligibility categories and processing, and for the labor certification itself, PERM: EB-2 or EB-3 explains how the job requirements decide your category.
How much does a green card cost?Get a personalized price and timeline estimate based on your green card path and nationality.
The final-stage cost: adjustment of status vs consular processing
The last stage is where you apply for the green card itself, and its cost depends entirely on whether you finish inside the U.S. through adjustment of status or abroad through consular processing. These two routes lead to the same permanent residence, but they use different forms, different agencies, and different fee structures, so the choice affects both your budget and your timeline.
Adjustment of status is for people already living in the U.S. on a valid status, such as H-1B or L-1. You file Form I-485, the Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, and the filing fee is $1,440 per applicant by mail, or $1,390 online, with biometrics now bundled into that amount rather than billed separately. Adjustment applicants can also request a work permit (Form I-765) and a travel document (Form I-131, called Advance Parole) while the case is pending. Under the 2024 fee rule those carry their own fees even when filed with the I-485, $260 for the I-765 and $630 for the I-131, so plan for them as separate add-ons rather than assuming the I-485 fee covers them.
Consular processing is for people finishing abroad. Instead of Form I-485, you complete Form DS-260 through the Department of State and pay a $345 immigrant visa processing fee per person, plus a $235 USCIS Immigrant Fee that pays to produce the physical card after your visa is approved. If your case needs an Affidavit of Support reviewed domestically, that adds $120. Taken together, the consular route usually costs less per person in government fees than adjustment of status, but it requires travel to a U.S. consulate in your home country for an interview, and the appointment wait times vary by post.
The practical question is not which is cheaper on paper but which fits your situation: someone already on an H-1B in the U.S. often adjusts status to avoid international travel, while someone abroad completes consular processing because it is the only route open to them. Our full comparison of consular processing vs adjustment of status walks through the trade-offs in detail, and how to read the visa bulletin explains the priority date that decides when you are even allowed to file this final stage.
Attorney and professional costs for a green card
Professional help is the largest variable in a green card cost, and unlike government fees it is market-based, so it is quoted as a range rather than a fixed number. Attorney fees for an employment-based green card commonly run from about $3,000 to $10,000 or more across the full PERM, I-140, and I-485 sequence, depending on the complexity of the case, how the work is split between stages, and whether it is a straightforward EB-3 filing or a heavily documented self-petition.
How that fee is billed varies. Some attorneys charge a flat fee per stage, so you might see a separate quote for PERM, for the I-140, and for the I-485. Others bundle the whole green card into a single flat fee, and a few bill hourly for complex or unusual cases. In employer-sponsored cases, the company often covers the attorney fee for the PERM and I-140 stages because those steps benefit the employer, while the beneficiary may cover the adjustment-of-status stage that benefits them personally. There is no single rule here, so confirm who is paying which stage before work begins.
Two other professional costs are easy to overlook. The immigration medical exam, done by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon for adjustment of status or a panel physician for consular processing, typically costs between $200 and $500 per person and is not set by the government. Foreign credential evaluations, needed when your degree was earned outside the U.S., usually run $100 to $400. Neither is optional if your case requires it, so fold them into your budget from the start.
For attorney pricing models specifically, and how flat fees compare with hourly billing, our companion guide on how much an immigration lawyer costs goes deeper than we can here.
What you actually pay: a realistic green card total and no hidden costs
For a realistic green card total, a single employment-based applicant in 2026 should plan on roughly $3,000 to $6,000 in government fees plus $3,000 to $10,000 in professional fees, which lands most cases somewhere between $6,000 and $16,000 all in. The wide band is honest: an employer-paid EB-3 through a nonprofit sits near the bottom, while a fully documented self-petition with premium processing and a spouse and children sits near the top.
The clearest way to see your own number is to separate the fixed fees from the variable ones. Here is how a typical single-applicant case breaks down, using current government figures and mid-range professional estimates.
| Cost | Route | Typical 2026 amount |
|---|---|---|
| PERM recruitment | Employer-sponsored | Employer cost, varies |
| Form I-140 (filing + Asylum Program Fee) | All employer-sponsored | $715 to $1,315 |
| Adjustment of status (Form I-485) | Finishing in the U.S. | $1,440 per applicant |
| Consular processing (DS-260 + Immigrant Fee) | Finishing abroad | $580 per person |
| Immigration medical exam | Both routes | $200 to $500 per person |
| Credential evaluation (if needed) | Both routes | $100 to $400 |
| Attorney fees (full sequence) | Both routes | $3,000 to $10,000+ |
Family members raise the total because each spouse and child files their own I-485 or DS-260 and takes their own medical exam, so a family of four adjusting status pays the I-485 fee four times over. That is usually the single largest driver of a higher-than-expected bill, more than the category or the route.
The reason a green card cost feels unpredictable is that traditional pricing splits every one of these line items into a separate invoice, and RFEs (a Request for Evidence, where USCIS asks for more documentation) can trigger extra charges you did not plan for. Tukki quotes one end price that already folds in the government fees your case needs and any RFE response, so the number you see is the number you pay, with no separate RFE bill arriving mid-case. You can see your own figure and timeline for your green card path and nationality with the pricing tool, and our process page shows the steps behind that number.
Tukki is a U.S. immigration provider that helps skilled professionals and their employers with employment-based green cards, from EB-2 and EB-3 through PERM labor certification to EB-2 NIW and EB-1A self-petitions, with dedicated attorney support and full visibility into your case at every stage. If you want a clear read on what your green card will cost and how the stages fit your timeline, our team can walk you through it.