Reminder: USCIS filing fee increase and new regulations affecting high-skilled workers are now in effect

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") published its final rule in the Federal Register on October 24, 2016 announcing the new fee schedule for applications.  The new rule increases fees for most applications and petitions by a weighted average of 21%. Please refer to our update from November 2016 with examples of the fee increases for some of the most common types of applications and petitions.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") published a final rule in the Federal Register on November 18, 2016 announcing a number of important changes and codifying existing agency policy regarding high-skilled non-immigrant workers, EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 immigrant workers and their employers. A detailed summary of this new rule, which went into effect on January 17, 2017, can be found in the News and Updates section of our firm's website.

Reminder: new fee schedule from USCIS goes into effect on 12/23

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") published its final rule in the Federal Register on October 24, 2016 announcing the new fee schedule for applications.  The new rule increases fees for most applications and petitions by a weighted average of 21%. Please refer to our update from last month with examples of the fee increases for some of the most common types of applications and petitions. Applicants looking to take advantage of the lower, current fees should ensure any relevant applications to USCIS are filed or postmarked before December 23, 2016. 

USCIS proposes significant fee increases for nearly all applications & petitions

On May 4, 2016, USCIS published a proposed rule to increase filing fees an average of 21% across all application-types and add a few new fees to its existing fee schedule. The agency noted the current fees, set in 2010, are not sufficient to cover the full costs of the services USCIS provides. In hopes of providing better service, reducing wait times and increasing enforcement efforts, USCIS announced its proposed fee increases, which include the following changes for common applications:

• Form I-129 (H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN, E) would increase from $325 to $460 (42%)
• Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker would increase from $580 to $700 (21%)
• Form I-485 Application to Adjust Status for adults would increase from $1,070 to $1,225 (16%)
• Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative would increase from $420 to $535 (27%)
• Form N-400 Application for Naturalization would increase from $680 to $725 (8%)

The proposed rule in its entirety can be viewed on the Federal Register website. Comments are due by July 5, 2016 and can be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov.  All submissions should include the DHS Docket No. USCIS-2016-0001.