U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it will increase the premium processing fee for most petitions currently eligible for premium processing to $2,500 (yes, that’s a 75% increase!). The new processing fee takes effect on Monday, October 19. For petitions requesting H-2B or R-1 (religious workers) classification, the fee will increase from $1,440 to $1,500.
Read MoreAs part of an appropriations bill that was passed last week to fund the US government, Congress has authorized U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to raise its premium processing fees from $1,440 to $2,500, and to expand the petitions and applications eligible for premium processing to include applications for employment authorization (Form I-765), applications to change or extend status (Form I-539), and immigrant petitions for multinational managers and executives (Form I-140). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also will have the authority to designate other cases for premium service.
Read MoreEarlier this week, a federal judge blocked USCIS from increasing its filing fees, which were scheduled to take effect today, October 2. The judge found possible procedural and substantive violations under the Administrative Procedures Act, and defects in the way the Acting Secretaries for the Department of Homeland Security at the time had been appointed, the combination of which made him decide to temporarily block the proposed fee increases until these issues could be thoroughly addressed.
Read MoreU.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.
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