USCIS announces changes to its fees: What you should know about investing in your future.
On January 30, 2024, USCIS published a final rule to adjust fees for certain immigration processing. This change represents the first major fee adjustment since 2016, which will allow them to process processing in a timelier manner according to their press release.
WHAT ARE THESE UPDATES?
USCIS received over 5,400 unique public comments in response to its January 2023 notice of proposed final rule. USCIS took these stakeholder comments into consideration during the final proposed rule process. Taking stakeholder comments into account, the final fee rule includes several important updates to the initial final rule. The final rule:
- Reduces the agency’s required annual cost recovery amount by nearly $730 million, when considering the budgetary effects of efficiency measures;
- Extends fee waivers for Special Immigrant Juveniles and victims of human trafficking, crime, and domestic violence; U.S. military service members and our Afghan allies; and families seeking international adoptions.
- Provides special discounts for nonprofit organizations and small business employers;
- Provides special discounts for nonprofit organizations and small business employers;
- Allows applications for Employment Authorization Documents at half price for adjustment of status applicants and a reduced fee for adjustment of status applicants under 14 years of age under certain conditions;
- Extends eligibility for a 50% fee reduction for naturalization applications, available to individuals who can demonstrate family income between 150% and 400% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines; and Implements.
HOW WILL THIS RULE CHANGE THE USCIS FEE BREAKDOWN?
The main elements of the final rule are as follows:
- For individual filers, the final rule generally limits newly established rates to no more than the increase in the Consumer Price Index since 2016, which is 26%. Many of these rates will increase by less than 26%.
- The final fee rule keeps fee increases for naturalization and adoption applications and petitions low.
- The final fee rule ameliorates the higher fees for employers with special discounts for nonprofits and small employers.
- The final fee rule codifies existing fee waiver eligibility for low-income and vulnerable populations and expands fee waivers for certain humanitarian and other beneficiaries.
- For forms for which USCIS offers online filing, there will generally be a $50 discount for those who choose to file online in lieu of paper filing.
This increase has substantial implications, particularly for family-based immigration applications, among the most affected categories is the “I-129 H-2A-identified beneficiaries” form with a cost from $460 to $1090 with an increase of $630 representing 137%.
As for Form N-400, Application for Naturalization or Citizenship (online, with biometric services) will be priced at $710 when the previous fee was $725 with a decrease of -$15. However, Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, including biometric services for filing in paper format, will cost $760, when the previous fee was $725.
Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative), commonly used for family reunification, including marriage-based green cards, will increase 26% to $675 for paper filers and $625 for online filers.
Form I-129F (Petition for Alien Fiancé(e)), essential for persons intending to bring their fiancé(e) to the United States, will increase from $535 to $675 (26%).
Another increase is in the Form I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status), used by those seeking a green card or permanent residence, which will also increase by 18% for the stand-alone application (from $1,225 to $1,440).
However, two formally free applications within the adjustment of status process, employment authorization and advance parole, will now cost an additional $650 and $630, respectively.
WHEN WILL THIS NEW RULE COME INTO EFFECT?
The new rates will take effect on April 1, 2024, which means that all applications postmarked after this date will be charged the new higher costs.
Compared to the proposed rule, each fee is the same or lower in the final rule. For all individual applicants, the final rule caps the newly established fees at no more than 26%, equivalent to the increase in the Consumer Price Index since it issued the last final rule in 2016.
With the new revenue the rule will generate, USCIS will implement innovative solutions to improve the customer experience and stem the growth of the backlog. While the announced fee increase will allow USCIS to better balance costs overall, Congressional appropriations are still needed to sustainably and fully manage the increase in caseload related to border crossers, including hiring additional USCIS officers to help restructure a system that was not built to handle the amount of cases they receive.