On Sept. 29, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted the motion for preliminary injunction filed by eight nonprofit organizations, including CLINIC, temporarily halting the implementation of USCIS final fee rule in its entirety and on a nationwide basis.
Until further action from the Court, USCIS is prohibited from implementing the fees, policies, or forms associated with the fee rule. Practitioners should continue to use the versions of forms that were in effect prior to Oct. 2. Separately, the preliminary injunction from City of Seattle v. DHS is still in effect, preventing USCIS from changing the fee waiver rules to eliminate means tested benefits as an eligibility criterion, so fee waiver policies remain at status quo as well.
CLINIC will update this webpage with information and guidance on further developments. Please check back frequently.
USCIS Fee Schedule Changes
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, published the final rule for its revised fee schedule on Aug. 3, 2020. The final rule is scheduled to take effect 60 days after publication on Oct. 2, 2020. Changes set forth in the final rule include dramatic increases in many current application fees as well as the creation of a fee for asylum applications. While fee waivers required by statute remain in place, the rule eliminates most existing fee waivers that allow vulnerable immigrants to maintain their status and progress in their immigration journey
Since the rule was first proposed in November 2019, CLINIC has led opposition efforts and encouraged network agencies and partners to voice their opposition to these harmful changes that will have a disproportionate impact on low-income immigrants, vulnerable populations and delay many hardworking immigrants’ long-sought American dreams. In total, USCIS received more than 43,000 public comments. The vast majority opposed the fee increases and the elimination of fee waivers, and challenged the procedures used during the rulemaking process.
The information and resources below will help you understand the upcoming changes and take steps to prepare your practice and community for their implementation.
What Will Change Under the Fee Schedule Rule
Some of the changes scheduled to go into effect on Oct. 2, 2020, include:
Adjustment of Status to Lawful Permanent Residency – Currently, an adjustment of status application (Form I-485) costs $1,225 for most applicants, which includes the cost of concurrently filed applications for work authorization (Form I-765) and a travel document (Form I-131). USCIS will unbundle the filing fees for these applications resulting in the total price of that package increasing to $2,270.
Work Authorization – The application for work authorization (Form I-765) will increase from $410 to $550, with the exception of I-765s filed by recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which will remain the same.
Naturalization – USCIS will increase the naturalization application (Form N-400) fee from $640 to $1,170. Additionally, it will eliminate the option to request a reduced fee of $320 using Form I-942 as well as fee waivers for the N-400. This will increase the burden on low-income immigrants seeking to naturalize, further delaying their access to citizenship.
Provisional Waivers – The Form I–601A application for a provisional unlawful presence waiver will increase from $630 to $960.
Nonimmigrant Worker Petitions – USCIS is separating the former Form I-129 into several new I-129 forms by worker type, for example, an I-129MISC for classification as a P, Q, R and H-3 nonimmigrant. The filing fee will increase fee from $460 to $695.
Affirmative Asylum – USCIS will impose a new fee of $50 on applications for asylum (Form I-589), making the United States one of only four countries in the world that levy such a fee on asylum seekers.
Fee Waivers – USCIS will slash existing fee waivers except for those enumerated by statute. Among the fee waivers largely eliminated are those for applications for naturalization, adjustment of status, green card replacement and renewals (Form I-90) and employment authorization. USCIS will disallow fee waivers for any applicant who is subject to an affidavit of support requirement, is already a sponsored immigrant, or is subject to public charge inadmissibility.
Online Filing – The fee for forms filed online will be $10 lower than the fee for the same form filed by mail, where online filing is available.
What Will Stay the Same Under the Fee Schedule Rule
Fee waivers will remain available for VAWA self-petitioners, battered spouses of certain nonimmigrants, U visa applicants, T visa applicants, TPS applicants and certain Special Immigrants. The cost for renewing DACA will remain the same, with a $410 fee for employment authorization and $85 for biometrics.
Stay Tuned
CLINIC maintains that immigration benefits should remain accessible, regardless of an immigrant’s socioeconomic background. It is possible that litigation will delay the implementation of these changes. CLINIC will continue to updating this webpage with information and guidance as it become available.
Resources
Resources, Webinars, and Trainings on Fee Schedule Changes
Choose a category below or search by title. For a full list of all Fee Schedule Change resources, visit our resource library.
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