The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently increased their fees for many petitions and applications filed with them. Their reasoning for the increase was the fees are their only source of funding, and they needed to pay for higher costs. The EB-5 petitions and applications were affected the most, with one petition going up 145% and an application increasing 186%. Here is a list of some of the petitions and applications concerned:
- I-526
- I-924
- I-924A
- I-485
- I-751
- I-90
- USCIS Immigrant Fee
- I-765
- Biometrics Services Fee
- N-400 Application for Naturalization
See the USCIS website for a full list of fee changes.
How Do These Changes Affect Me?
If you’re an immigrant looking for entry into the United States, certification, a replacement for a permanent residence card, naturalization, travel documents, or employment authorization, you will be affected by these changes. If you’re unfamiliar with the fees and documents involved in your request, visit the website to ensure you’re sending the right amount with your papers. Any petition or application that doesn’t meet the fee increase amount will be denied automatically.
The USCIS also updates its forms on a continual basis. Just this year, seven forms were edited and updated to reflect changes:
- Form I-821D
- Form I-914
- Form I-485
- I-485 Supplement A to Form I-485
- Form I-129
- Form I-140
- Form I-765
Before filing a petition or an application, make sure you have the correct edition. For some editions, earlier versions are accepted, but this is not the case for all of them. For example, USCIS will accept the new version of Form I-821D, but it will also take the 2014 edition. It will not, however, accept any older versions of Form I-765 starting on February 21st. USCIS specifies this information on its Forms Updates page. Despite these changes, remember USCIS allows people to waive certain fees using Form I-912 if applicants are unable to pay for certain benefit requests or services. See the form for more information.
The immigration application and petition elements change frequently, making it tough to keep track of whether you have the right form and fee. If you would like help with this process, contact us at (408) 560-4622 or fill out our online form for a case consultation.