USCIS Releases Final Rule on Immigration Fee Adjustments
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has recently released a final rule to adjust certain fees associated with immigration and naturalization benefit requests. This marks the first adjustment since 2016 and aims to enable USCIS to cover more of its operational expenses and enhance the efficiency of application processing.
The final rule stems from a thorough review of fees, mandated by law, following the publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking in January 2023. The review found that the current fee structure does not adequately cover the agency’s operational costs, including:
- additional staffing needs
- the expansion of humanitarian programs
- federally mandated salary increases
- other essential investments
Key updates include:
- A reduction of the agency’s required annual cost recovery by nearly $730 million, partially achieved through improved efficiency measures.
- Expanded fee exemptions for various groups, including Special Immigrant Juveniles, victims of human trafficking, crime, and domestic violence, U.S. military service members and Afghan allies, and families pursuing international adoption.
- Special fee discounts for nonprofit organizations and small business employers.
- Half-price Employment Authorization Document applications for certain adjustment of status applicants and reduced fees for adjustment of status applicants under 14 in specific situations.
- Expanded eligibility for a 50% fee reduction for naturalization applications, applicable to individuals demonstrating household income between 150% and 400% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.
- Implementation of a standard $50 discount for online filers.
All fees in the final rule are either the same as or lower than those proposed initially. Most individual filers will see limits on how much newly established fees can increase, with the new fees not exceeding a 26% increase, equivalent to the rise in the Consumer Price Index since the last fee rule in 2016.
The increased revenue generated by the rule will facilitate USCIS in implementing innovative solutions to enhance customer experience and manage backlog growth. However, congressional funding remains crucial to sustainably address the increased caseloads associated with recent border crossers. This includes hiring additional USCIS personnel to manage the influx.
The new fees under the final rule will become effective on April 1, 2024.
Additionally, USCIS has introduced a final rule to revise the filing fee associated with Form I-907, known as the Request for Premium Processing, in order to account for inflation. The fee modification will come into effect on February 26, 2024.
Contact Heckler Law Group, U.S. immigration law firm, to navigate immigration and naturalization benefit requests in the most thorough way possible.
Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
This article is intended for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. You should not act or rely on any information in this article without seeking the advice of a licensed immigration attorney.