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Proposed USCIS Filing Fee Increases—Apply Before They Go Into Effect!
June 11th, 2020
by Hill & Piibe, June 12, 2020
In November 2019, USCIS published a lengthy notice in the Federal Register about its intention to raise filing fees. As of the writing of this blog, it has not yet finalized the fee increases, and there is no anticipated date of when they will go into effect.
Some striking propositions:
- Adjustment of Status (Form I-485), which is the application for a green card from within the United States (rather than applying abroad at a U.S. consulate): The current fee includes free related applications, such as advance parole (travel permit), and the work permit. The proposed rule eliminates these free applications, and greatly increases the cost with a la carte separate filing fees for the related applications.
- Temporary Work Visa (Form I-129) is broken down by visa category, with different fees for each one.
- Biometrics (fingerprinting) is reduced, and also may be free for some applications
A somewhat bright note is that the fee for I-140 Employment Green Card petitions may decrease, along with the I-90 and Fiance Visa fees.
Each proposed filing fee increase was given a range, depending on additional funding from other sources.
Here is a summary of the proposed fee increases for popular applications, and the maximum proposed:
| Form | Current Fee | Proposed Fee |
| Biometrics Fee | 85 | 30—Also, eliminate the separate fee and roll it into many applications that require biometrics |
| I-90 (Replacement Green Card) | 455 | 415 |
| I-129 (Temporary Work Visa)—separate fees by category | 460 for all visa categories | 715 for O visas 705 for E, H-3, P, Q, R and TN visas 815 for L visas 560 for H-1 visas 425 for blanket H-2A; 860 for named beneficiaries 395 for blanket H-2B; 725 for named beneficiaries |
| I-129F (Fiance Visa) | 535 | 520 |
| I-130 (Family Petition) | 535 | 555 |
| I-131 (Advance Parole travel document) | 575 | 585 |
| I-140 (Employment Petition) | 700 | 545 |
| I-212 (Waiver for past violations) | 930 | 1040 |
| I-485 (Adjustment of Status—Green Card) | 1140 | 1120 with no other services Add 85 for biometrics Add 490 for work permit Add 585 for advance parole |
| I-539 (Change/Extend Status) | 370 | 400 |
| I-589 (Asylum and Withholding of Removal) | Free | 50 |
| I-601 (Waiver for past violations) | 930 | 985 |
| I-601A (Waiver for Unlawful Presence) | 630 | 960 |
| I-751 (Remove Green Card Conditions) | 595 | 760 |
| I-765 (Work Permit) | 410 | 490 |
| I-821D (DACA renewal) | Free | 275 |
| N-400 (Naturalization/Citizenship) | 640 | 1170 |
If you have been delaying an application, you may want to try and file soon as you can before these fee increases go into effect.
Categories: Immigration News
