The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a new final rule to adjust certain immigration and naturalization feesmarking the first increase since 2016. Despite the increase, the agency will also offer discounts and exemptions for certain groups of foreigners.
The final rule, recently published, aims to allow Uscis to more fully recover its operational costs and ensure timely processing of new applications. This action comes after a thorough review of rates, required by law, and after receiving more than 5,400 unique comments from the public in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking issued in January 2023.
Ur M. Jaddou, director of Uscis, said in a statement that This rate adjustment seeks to better satisfy the needs of the agency and provide timely decisions to those who request their services. Additionally, Jaddou highlighted the efforts made by the Uscis workforce to improve customer service, reduce delays and ensure fairness and respect for all those served by the agency.
Among the most significant changes in the final rule is the reduction of the required annual recovery amount of agency costs by almost US$730,000,000, which translates into a decrease in the economic burden for applicants. Likewise, fee exemptions are expanded for groups such as Special Immigrant Youth, victims of human trafficking, crime and domestic violence, and members of the United States military service, among others.
Other discounts that the USCIS will apply
In addition to the exemptions, final rule also provides special discounts for nonprofit organizations and small business employers. For example, Employment Authorization Document applications are offered at half price for certain adjustment of status applicants, as well as reduced rates for children under 14 years of age under certain conditions.
Despite these adjustments and discounts, Uscis warns that the new rates will come into force on April 1, 2024. However, during a grace period that extends through June 3, 2024, the agency will accept older editions of most forms along with the new rates.
Despite the adjustment, Uscis promises to improve the customer experience and address the increase in cases.
On the other hand, Certain new forms, such as Form I-129 and Form I-140, will require revision with a new fee calculation and they will not have a grace period. Uscis encourages applicants to familiarize themselves with the changes and access draft versions of the forms before the effective date of the new rates.
Despite the rate increase, the organization ensures that it will continue to implement innovative solutions to improve the customer experience and address the growth in the backlog of cases. However, it also emphasizes that Congressional appropriations are still needed to sustainably and comprehensively handle the increase in the volume of migration-related cases.
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