NACHMAN PHULWANI ZIMOVCAK (NPZ) LAW GROUP – IMMIGRATION LAWYER – EXPLAIN THE COSTS OF A GREEN CARD

How much can I expect to spend to receive a green card?

Immigrants or foreign nationals who wish to secure a green card so that they can lawfully live and work within the United States on a permanent basis should anticipate some costs.  Green card costs include fees paid to immigration services within the U.S. and other costs associated with applying for and receiving the green card. Immigrants will want to be aware of these costs so that they can plan, save, and borrow funds if needed to receive a green card.  Our experienced green card attorneys at NPZ Law Group, P.C.detail the costs associated with a green card below.

The Initial Visa Petition

The exact costs you will incur when applying for a green card vary depending on the type of green card you may be seeking.  Most types of green cards will require an initial form known as the visa petition.  The petition will include the basis for your eligibility, such as a family relationship or employment in the U.S.  If you are seeking a family-based green card, you will file a Form I-130, while those applying for an employment based visa will use a Form I-140.  There are a few less common forms for other green card types.

Costs to file these forms are adjusted on a regular basis. Currently, the fee for a I-130 family- based green card is $535.  The fee for filing a form I-140 employment-based petition is $700. These filing fees will typically be submitted by your U.S. petitioner, which could be your employer or family member.

Other Fees

After you have submitted the fees for your initial visa petition and had your form approved, you will move forward with the process.  Your fees from here depend on whether you are seeking an adjustment of status (“AOS”) or using consular processing (“CP”).  For an adjustment of status, you should anticipate paying at least $1,225 in government fees.  For consular processing, fees will range, typically involving $325 for family-based applications and $345 for employment- based applications.

In addition to these governmental fees, you will likely need to pay an attorney to assist in your green card application. While this presents an additional expense . . . the time, stress, and possibilities for denial associated with applying without a qualified Immigration and Nationality Lawyer make the investment well worth it.

While the fees can be steep, the recent partial government shutdown shows the value of the payment of the filing fees since the USCIS continued to process applications and petitions paid for by application and petition fees. In other words, USCIS is self-funded.

If you should have any questions or need more information about the ways in which the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Laws may impact you, your family, your friends or your colleagues, please contact the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Lawyers at the NPZ Law Group – VISASERVE – U.S. Immigration and Nationality Lawyers by e-mailing us at info@visaserve.com or by calling us at 201-670-0006 (x107). You can also visit our Law Firm’s website at www.visaserve.com.