Timing and Costs

Return to Permanent Residence Overview

Updated February 12th, 2025

Budgeting and Cost Share

The overall cost of permanent residence sponsorship depends on the sponsorship eligibility category (to be determined upon initial review) and case complexity, and generally involves immigration attorney fees, U.S. federal government filing fees, and other fees such as recruitment costs, record-keeping and administrative costs, mailing fees, translation fees, and other incidental expenses. Any cost share responsibility for fees that are not required to be paid by Tufts should be communicated in advance to the sponsored employee.

School or Department Costs

***As of March 2025, Tufts sponsoring units or schools must pay for all initial costs related to the Tufts-sponsored permanent residency petition, including the “PERM” labor certification process (mandated by federal regulations in permanent residency categories that require this step), I-140 preparation and fees (primary permanent residency petition document), and all related attorney fees.

Individual Costs

Once the petition is approved (refer to EB-1B Process Overview - International Center or EB-2A Process Overview - International Center for details), beneficiaries must usually file a Form I-485, which is the employee's personal application to adjust to permanent resident status. Contributions to the costs associated with the preparation of the Form I-485 are dependent upon school sponsorship policies or Dean/VP approval. Any contribution to the costs associated with the preparation of Form I-485 may be considered a taxable benefit. Costs related to the permanent residence sponsorship of dependent family members are the responsibility of the individual employee.

Premium Processing Fees

The U.S. government provides an option to pay an additional fee for expedited processing of the I-140 petition. Premium processing fees must be covered by the department or school in accordance with the school’s sponsorship policy or if it is of any benefit to Tufts (e.g., to sustain employment). Otherwise, the individual beneficiary may choose to assume these costs for faster processing.

Approximate Total Costs

The below summary of costs are approximate. The International Center uses external immigration firms that generally have a set fee schedule. We recommend that sponsoring departments wishing to learn more about sponsoring a permanent resident reach out to the International Center for further information.

*Additional costs may be incurred in complex cases or additional government requests related to a case.