August Network – October 13, 2020 – on Immigration and Visa
A federal judge on Sept.30 temporarily blocked USCIS from increasing fees for green card and U.S. citizenship applications which was supposed to take into action starting from Oct.2, 2020.
Original final rule date by USCIS: “This final rule is effective Oct. 2, 2020. Any application, petition, or request postmarked on or after this date must include payment of the new, correct fees established by this final rule.”
The fee calculator is currently still using the unchanged fee rules. At this point, it’s still valid to be used to determine the application fee for your case filing.
https://www.uscis.gov/feecalculator
https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-fees
August Network will continue to monitor the rule change and the final decision from the court.
Below is the fee adjustemetn rule that was originally released on USCIS website:
Department of Homeland Security announced a final rule（please see the table below） that adjusts fees for certain immigration and naturalization benefit requests to ensure U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recovers its costs of services.
Unlike most government agencies, USCIS is fee funded. Fees collected and deposited into the Immigration Examinations Fee Account fund nearly 97% of USCIS’ budget.
As required by federal law, USCIS conducted a comprehensive biennial fee review and determined that current fees do not recover the cost of providing adjudication and naturalization services. DHS is adjusting USCIS fees by a weighted average increase of 20% to help recover its operational costs. Current fees would leave the agency underfunded by about $1 billion per year.
“USCIS is required to examine incoming and outgoing expenditures and make adjustments based on that analysis,” said Joseph Edlow, USCIS deputy director for policy. “These overdue adjustments in fees are necessary to efficiently and fairly administer our nation’s lawful immigration system, secure the homeland and protect Americans.”
The rule accounts for increased costs to adjudicate immigration benefit requests, detect and deter immigration fraud, and thoroughly vet applicants, petitioners and beneficiaries. The rule also supports payroll, technology and operations to accomplish the USCIS mission. The rule removes certain fee exemptions, includes new nominal fees for asylum applicants, and reduces fee waivers to help recover the costs of adjudication.
This final rule also encourages online filing by providing a $10 reduction in the fee for applicants who submit forms online that are electronically available from USCIS. Online filing is the most secure, efficient, cost-effective and convenient way to submit a request with USCIS.
USCIS last updated its fee structure in December 2016 by a weighted average increase of 21%.
August Network selected and highlighted the application categories that are mostly related to our clients. For a full list of changes and a complete table of final fees,please see https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2020-16389.pdf
| Immigration Benefit Request | Current Fee | Final Fee | Change ($) | Percentage Change |
| I-129H1 | $460 | $555 | $95 | 21 percent |
| I-129H2A – Named Beneficiaries | $460 | $850 | $390 | 85 percent |
| I-129H2B – Named Beneficiaries | $460 | $715 | $255 | 55 percent |
| I-129L | $460 | $805 | $345 | 75 percent |
| I-129O | $460 | $705 | $245 | 53 percent |
| I-129H2A – Unnamed Beneficiaries | $460 | $415 | -$45 | -10 percent |
| I-129H2B – Unnamed Beneficiaries | $460 | $385 | -$75 | -16 percent |
| I-129F Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) | $535 | $510 | -$25 | -5 percent |
| I-130 Petition for Alien Relative (online filing) | $535 | $550 | $15 | 3 percent |
| I-130 Petition for Alien Relative (paper filing) | $535 | $560 | $25 | 5 percent |
| I-131 Application for Travel Document | $575 | $590 | $15 | 3 percent |
| I-131 Refugee Travel Document for an individual age 16 or older | $135 | $145 | $10 | 7 percent |
| I-131 Refugee Travel Document for a child under the age of 16 | $105 | $115 | $10 | 10 percent |
| I-131A Application for Travel Document (Carrier Documentation) | $575 | $1,010 | $435 | 76 percent |
| I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker | $700 | $555 | -$145 | -21 percent |
| I-290B Notice of Appeal or Motion | $675 | $700 | $25 | 4 percent |
| I-360 Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant | $435 | $450 | $15 | 3 percent |
| I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence | $1,140 | $1,130 | -$10 | -1 percent |
| I-526 Immigrant Petition by Alien Investor | $3,675 | $4,010 | $335 | 9 percent |
| I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status (online filing) | $370 | $390 | $20 | 5 percent |
| I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status (paper filing) | $370 | $400 | $30 | 8 percent |
| I-765 Application for Employment Authorization (Non-DACA) | $410 | $550 | $140 | 34 percent |
| I-765 Application for Employment Authorization (DACA only) 6 | $410 | $410 | $0 | 0 percent |
| I-824 Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition | $465 | $495 | $30 | 6 percent |
| N-400 Application for Naturalization (online filing) | $640 | $1,160 | $520 | 81 percent |
N-400 Application for Naturalization (paper filing)8 | $640 | $1,170 | $530 | 83 percent |
| Low income $320 | $850 | 266 percent | ||
| Biometric Services (Non-DACA)9 | $85 | $30 | -$55 | -65 percent |
| Biometric Services (DACA only)10 | $85 | $85 | $0 | 0 percent |
Have more questions regarding new polices or rules for international students and workers? Contact us at contact@augustnetwork.com
Sources:
https://www.aila.org/advo-media/press-releases/2020/uscis-fee-rule-halted