U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced a final rule published in the Federal Register adjusting the fees required for most immigration applications and petitions. The new fees will be effective December 23rd.
USCIS is almost entirely funded by the fees paid by applicants and petitioners for immigration benefits. The law requires USCIS to conduct fee reviews every two (2) years to determine the funding levels necessary to administer the nation’s immigration laws, process benefit requests and provide the infrastructure needed to support those activities.
Fees will increase for the first time in six years, by a weighted average of 21 percent for most applications and petitions. This increase is necessary to recover the full cost of services provided by USCIS. These include the costs associated with fraud detection and national security (FDNS), customer service and case processing, and providing services without charge to refugee and asylum applicants and to other customers eligible for fee waivers or exemptions.
The final rule contains a table summarizing current and new fees. The new fees will also be listed on the Fees page on the USCIS website. Form G-1055 will not reflect the new fees until the effective date. Applications and petitions postmarked or filed on or after December 23rd must include the new fees or USCIS will not be able to accept them.
“This is our first fee increase since November 2010, and we sincerely appreciate the valuable public input we received as we prepared this final rule,” said USCIS Director León RodrÃguez. “We are mindful of the effect fee increases have on many of the customers we serve. That’s why we decided against raising fees as recommended after the fiscal year 2012 and 2014 fee reviews. However, as an agency dependent upon users’ fees to operate, these changes are now necessary to ensure we can continue to serve our customers effectively. We will also offer a reduced filing fee for certain naturalization applicants with limited means.”
Click Here (https://www.uscis.gov/forms/our-fees) to view the chart that lists USCIS’ fees effective December 23rd, 2016. Applications and petitions postmarked or filed on or after December 23rd, 2016, must include these new fees or USCIS will reject the submission.
Note:
1. The fee for Form I-192 will remain $585 when filed with and processed by CBP.
2. Certain low-income naturalization applicants may pay a filing fee of $320 plus the $85 biometric services fee. For eligibility details and filing instructions, see Form I-942, Request for Reduced Fee and Form N-400, Application for Naturalization.
3. The old fee for N-600/N-600K applications filed on behalf of a biological child was $600 and on behalf of an adopted child was $550. There is no fee for a Form N-600 filed by a member or veteran of any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces filing on his or her behalf.
CLICK HERE (https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-10-24/pdf/2016-25328.pdf) . . .
For more information, or to speak to one of the immigration and nationality lawyers or attorneys at Nachman Phulwani Zimovcak (NPZ) Law Group, P.C., please feel free to e-mail us at info@visaserve.com or to call us at 201-670-0006 (x107).