Now Is more Expensive to be an Immigrant – New USCIS Fees
Now Is more Expensive to be an Immigrant – New USCIS Fees
by Jose Enrique Perez
As part of the new attacks of the Trump administration against immigrants, he just increased immigration fees for USCIS applications. The increases go from 3% to 535%.
On August 3, 2020, USCIS published a Final Rule that significantly alters the USCIS fee schedule by adjusting fees, adding new fees, establishing multiple fees for nonimmigrant worker petitions, and limiting the number of beneficiaries for certain forms.
Starting October 2, 2020, the applications for immigration benefits or relief in the United States must be accompanied with the new fees as set forth in the Final Rule of USCIS Fee Table.
The fees for the immigration and naturalization process increased in average about 20%, in addition to the increases of the fees to most forms, which now also includes the Asylum petition which used to be at no cost to the applicant. Several petitions for non-immigrant workers are subject to new fees as well and in several other petitions the numbers of beneficiaries are being limited.
The rule also removes certain fee exemptions, changes fee waiver requirements, alters premium processing time limits, and modifies certain intercountry adoption processing.
Some of the changes:
• Increases fees by a weighted average of 20 percent
• Adds a $50 fee for asylum applications
• Removes the proposal to transfer money to ICE
• Retains some fee waiver
Some of USCIS’s forms will also change. USCIS will post the new and revised forms online 30 days before the new rule goes into effect. 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.
USCIS will provide a grace period of up to 60 days in which it will accept both the previous and the new versions of certain forms as long as payment of the new, correct fees accompanies the forms. Applicants and petitioners must use the new or revised form by Oct. 2, 2020.
You should remember that this article is not intended to provide you with legal advice; it is intended only to provide guidance about immigration policies. Furthermore, the article is not intended to explain or identify all potential issues that may arise in connection with representation in an immigration case. Each case is fact-specific and therefore similar cases may have different outcomes.
I represent individuals in immigration. If you have any questions or concerns about an immigration case or potential case, you can call me at (315) 422-5673, send me a fax at (315) 466-5673, or e-mail me at joseperez@joseperezyourlawyer.com. The Law Office of Jose Perez has now moved and is located at 659 West Onondaga Street, Upper Level, Syracuse, New York 13204. Now with offices in Buffalo and Rochester!!! Please look for my next article in the October edition and stay safe, healthy and away from the Coronavirus.
