USCIS Increases Filing Fees
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it will increase most of its government filing fees effective October 2, 2020, due to budgetary shortfalls. It also will change the premium processing time from 15 calendar days to 15 business days. Finally, it will issue new versions of Form I-129 and Form I-765 in the next 30 days, which also will take effect on October 2, 2020.
Below are the specific updates for 1) Nonimmigrant Worker Petitions, 2) Permanent Residence Processing and Interim Benefits, 3) Naturalization and Asylum, 4) Premium Processing, and 5) Form Changes.
Nonimmigrant Worker Petitions
The base filing fee for the Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, which covers classifications such as the E, H, L, O, and TN, will differ depending on the type of worker being sponsored. Currently, there is one base filing fee for all the different types of nonimmigrant workers.
Permanent Residence Processing and Interim Benefits
USCIS will start charging separate filing fees for work authorization and travel permission if these benefits are requested with an application to adjust status (Form I-485). Currently, USCIS charges one fee of $1,140 plus $85 for biometrics, totaling $1,225, for an adjustment of status application, and there is no additional fee for requesting interim work and travel permission. USCIS believes that separating out the requests for interim benefits will result in more revenue and ensure that individuals pay for the services they actually need. It has reduced the biometrics fee.
USCIS also has eliminated the lower filing fees for applicants under the age of 14. The same fee applies for an application to adjust status regardless of the applicant’s age.
Naturalization and Asylum
Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, and Form I-589, Application for Asylum and Withholding of Removal are facing significant changes. The naturalization application fee has been raised to $1,170 from the current fee of $725 ($640 application fee and $85 biometrics fee). The asylum application is now $50, which was never required previously. This applies to most except for unaccompanied alien children in removal proceedings who file Form I-589 with USCIS.
In the new rule, fee waivers for naturalization will be available to VAWA, T, U, SIJ and Afghan/Iraqi SIV applicants. DHS will reduce $50 from the Form I-485 fee for applicants who paid the Form I-589 filing fee and are granted asylum. The possibility of a fee waiver was not mentioned.
*The final rule eliminates the reduced fee option for an applicant whose documented income is greater than 150 percent and not more than 200 percent of the Federal poverty level.
Premium Processing
USCIS is changing the premium processing time to 15 business days instead of calendar days for multiple reasons. In the past it has been unable to accomplish the required 15-day response due to the high volume of incoming petitions and a significant surge in premium processing requests. According to USCIS, the current time frame does not account for federal holidays or harsh weather when employees cannot come to work. USCIS does not plan on increasing the $1,440 premium processing fee at this time.
Form Changes
USCIS plans on updating the following forms in the next 30 days and will post the new versions online. They will take effect on October 2, 2020, with the new fees. These forms include:
Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker;
Form I-600/I-600A, Supplement 3, Request for Action on Approved Form I-600/I-600A;
Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization; and
Form I-912, Request for a Fee Waiver.
Conclusion
There has been quite a bit of media coverage about a budgetary crisis at USCIS and the need to furlough employees. It’s unclear how much of this accurate, but hopefully these increases will avert the need to reduce the number of USCIS adjudicators. That said, the filing fee increases that will take effect on October 2, 2020, are significant, most notably for the naturalization application. When USCIS first proposed these increases last year, it received 43,108 comments with a vast majority opposing all or part of the proposed fees as having negative effects on applicants, the economy, and employers. The agency’s response is that they have adjusted the fee schedule in order to cover the full cost of immigration and adjudication services.
For the most up-to-date fee information on correct filing and biometric services fees, I recommend visiting the USCIS Fee Calculator. This update is for informational purposes only. Please contact me if you would like to discuss these changes.