USCIS revises fees, effective from October 2

In a July 31 News Release, US Citizenship and Immigration Services [USCIS] has announced that the fees for “certain immigration and naturalization benefit requests” had been adjusted in order to ensure USCIS “recovers its costs of services”.

The fees hike is as per a final rule by the Department of Home Affairs.

The final rule, increasing the fees for certain requests made to USCIS, is to be effective from October 2, 2020. As per USCIS, “Any application, petition, or request postmarked on or after this date must include payment of the new, correct fees established by this final rule.”

USCIS had last updated its fee structure in December 2016, with a weighted average increase of 21%.

As USCIS is fee-funded, the fees that is collected fund almost 97% of the budget of USCIS. Under the US federal law, a comprehensive biennial fee review was conducted by USCIS.

The fee was adjusted after USCIS came to the finding that the current fees did not recover the cost incurred while providing “adjudication and naturalization services”. USCIS fees has been adjusted by USCIS by a weighted average increase of 20%.

The final rule encourages online filing. A $10 reduction in fee will be offered to applicants that submit forms online that USCIS provides electronically.

As per USCIS, “Online filing is the most secure, efficient, cost-effective and convenient way to submit a request with USCIS.”

The complete revised fees list is available online on the official USCIS website. Some of the fees changes as per the final rule are –

Immigration Benefit Request	Current Fee	Final Fee
I-90 Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card [online filing]	$455	$405
I-90 Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card [paper filing]	$455	$415
I-102 Application for Replacement/Initial Nonimmigrant Arrival-Departure Document	$445	$485
I-129 Petition for a Nonimmigrant worker	$460	N/A
I-129F Petition for Alien Fiancé[e]	$535	$510
I-130 Petition for Alien Relative (online filing)	$535	$550
I-130 Petition for Alien Relative (paper filing)	$535	$560
I-131 Application for Travel Document	$575	$590
I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker	$700	$555
I-526 Immigrant Petition by Alien Investor	$3,675	$4,010
I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status [online filing]	$370	$390
I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status (paper filing)	$370	$400
I-600/600A Adoption Petitions and Applications	$775	$805
I-687 Application for Status as a Temporary Resident	$1,130	$1,130
I-698 Application to Adjust Status from Temporary to Permanent Resident	$1,670	$1,615
I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence	$595	$760
I-765 Application for Employment Authorization [Non-DACA]	$410	$550
N-600 Application for Certificate of Citizenship [online filing]	$1,170	$990
N-600 Application for Certificate of Citizenship [paper filing]	$1,170	$1,000

Note. – For the complete list, visit the official website of USCIS.

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