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United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced they will raise fees for most US immigration services. Only the naturalization fee will remain unaffected. The increase is an attempt to close the $200 million deficit for fiscal year 2010-11.
Most fees are expected to increase by an average of about 10 percent. In some cases, fees will actually drop and fee waivers will be expanded to a number of "new categories". The adjusted fees will go into effect on 23 November, 2010.
USCIS's budget depends heavily on income derived from fees for the services that the organization provides. Fees for applications and petitions accounted for approximately 90 percent of its $2.4 billion yearly budget.
The fee increase is already facing criticism. The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) stated that they are "dismayed" with the fee increase and feel that USCIS is overreaching themselves in their attempt to rectify their budgetary woes.
"Many of the government expenses being underwritten by these fees are unrelated to the services for which fees are being paid. These are matters of public benefit, and should be funded by appropriations, not applicants," said AILA President Bernard Wolfsdorf.
"While a 10 percent fee increase in and of itself may not seem high, this comes only 3 years after a 66 percent USCIS fee increase. Taken together, these increases bring many fees to excessive levels," Wolfsdorf added.
Wolfsdorf stated that, in fact, previous fee increases have resulted in a marked decrease in the quality and efficiency of USCIS services.
USCIS received a large influx of applications and petitions leading up to the previous 66 percent fee increase, which resulted in enormous backlogs -- forcing USCIS to seek help from outside contractors to help deal with the workload.
AILA did say that there was one silver lining to the fee increase: fees for citizenship applications would not rise. Fees for citizenship increased by 70 percent in 2007, which immigrant-rights groups complained put citizenship out of reach of poorer immigrants.
Below is a table detailing the fee changes:
| Form No. | Description | Existing Fees (effective through 22 Nov, 2010) | Adjusted Fees (effective beginning 23 Nov, 2010) |
|---|---|---|---|
| I-90 | Application to Replace Permanent ResidentCard | $290 | $365 |
| I-102 | Application for Replacement/Initial NonimmigrantArrival-Departure Document | $320 | $330 |
| I-129/129CW | Petition for a NonimmigrantWorker | $320 | $325 |
| I-129F | Petition for AlienFiancé(e) | $455 | $340 |
| I-130 | Petition for AlienRelative | $355 | $420 |
| I-131 | Application for TravelDocument | $305 | $360 |
| I-140 | Immigrant Petition for AlienWorker | $475 | $580 |
| I-191 | Application for Advance Permission to Return toUnrelinquished Domicile | $545 | $585 |
| I-192 | Application for Advance Permission to Enter asNonimmigrant | $545 | $585 |
| I-193 | Application for Waiver of Passport and/orVisa | $545 | $585 |
| I-212 | Application for Permission to Reapply forAdmission into the U.S. after Deportation orRemoval | $545 | $585 |
| I-290B | Notice of Appeal orMotion | $585 | $630 |
| I-360 | Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or SpecialImmigrant | $375 | $405 |
| I-485 | Application to Register Permanent Residence orAdjust Status | $930 | $985 |
| I-526 | Immigrant Petition by AlienEntrepreneur | $1,435 | $1,500 |
| I-539 | Application to Extend/Change NonimmigrantStatus | $300 | $290 |
| I-600/600A I-800/800A | Petition to Classify Orphan asan Immediate Relative/Application for Advance Processing of OrphanPetition | $670 | $720 |
| I-601 | Application for Waiver of Ground ofExcludability | $545 | $585 |
| I-612 | Application for Waiver of the Foreign ResidenceRequirement | $545 | $585 |
| I-687 | Application for Status as a Temporary Residentunder Sections 245A or 210 of the Immigration and NationalityAct | $710 | $1,130 |
| I-690 | Application for Waiver of Grounds ofInadmissibility | $185 | $200 |
| I-694 | Notice of Appeal of Decision under Sections 245Aor 210 of the Immigration and NationalityAct | $545 | $755 |
| I-698 | Application to Adjust Status from Temporary toPermanent Resident (Under Section 245A of Public Law99-603) | $1,370 | $1,020 |
| I-751 | Petition to Remove the Conditions ofResidence | $465 | $505 |
| I-765 | Application for EmploymentAuthorization | $340 | $380 |
| I-817 | Application for Family UnityBenefits | $440 | $435 |
| I-824 | Application for Action on an ApprovedApplication or Petition | $340 | $405 |
| I-829 | Petition by Entrepreneur to RemoveConditions | $2,850 | $3,750 |
| I-881 | Application for Suspension of Deportation orSpecial Rule Cancellation of Removal (Pursuant to Section 203 ofPublic Law 105–110) | $285 | $285 |
| I-907 | Request for Premium ProcessingService | $1,000 | $1,225 |
| Civil SurgeonDesignation | $0 | $615 | |
| I-924 | Application for Regional Center under theImmigrant Investor Pilot Program | $0 | $6,230 |
| N-300 | Application to File Declaration ofIntention | $235 | $250 |
| N-336 | Request for Hearing on a Decision inNaturalization Proceedings | $605 | $650 |
| N-400 | Application forNaturalization | $595 | $595 |
| N-470 | Application to Preserve Residence forNaturalization Purposes | $305 | $330 |
| N-565 | Application for ReplacementNaturalization/CitizenshipDocument | $380 | $345 |
| N-600/600K | Application for Certification ofCitizenship/ Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificateunder Section 322 | $460 | $600 |
| Immigrant | $0 | $165 | |
| Biometrics | Capturing, Processing, and StoringBiometric Information | $80 | $85 |
