USCIS Fee Increase December 23; Significant EB-5 Increases; Income Based Naturalization Fees

By: Vishal Chander

On October 24, USCIS announced new processing fees which will be effective December 23, 2016.  The fee increase is the first in six years.  There is an average 21 percent increase for most forms.  The fee increase was driven by the need to recover the full cost of services which include costs associated with fraud detection, national security, customer service and case processing, and waiver of certain refugee and asylum fees.  USCIS notes that fees are driven in part by nominal appropriations from Congress.  USCIS receives no appropriations to offset the cost of adjudicating immigration benefit requests.  USCIS has not received any substantial appropriations from Congress since FY 2011. 

Significant Increases to EB-5 Related Fees

There have been significant increases in fees related to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor program:

Form	Benefit Request	Current Fee	New Fee
I-526	Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur	$1,500	$3,675
I–829	Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions	$3,750	$3,750
I–924	Application for Regional Center Designation Under the Immigrant Investor Program	$6,230	$17,795
I–924A	Annual Certification of Regional Center	$0	$3,035

Fees for initial EB-5 petitions and Regional Center designation applications have more than doubled.  A new fee for annual certification of Regional Centers has also been created.  The fee increases are driven by goals set out for 2016 to augment EB-5 staff and reduce processing times.  Processing times for initial EB-5 petitions stand at around 15 months.  Removal of conditions applications are processing at around 24 months.  New regional center applications are taking around 13 months.

Three Tier Naturalization Fees

The following fee increases have been announced for naturalization and citizenship related forms:

Form	Benefit Request	Current Fee	New Fee
N-400	Application for Naturalization	$595 ($680)	$640 ($725)
N–565	Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document	$345	$555
N–600 N–600K	Application for Certificate of Citizenship	$600	$1,170
N–336	Request for Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings	$650	$700
N–470	Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes	$330	$355

There was a $45 increase in the naturalization fee.  USCIS implemented a three tier fee schedule.  USCIS previously allowed waiver of the naturalization fee for individuals with a household income at or below 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.  USCIS now allows for two additional fee waivers:

1. The fee for an applicant whose documented income is greater than 150 percent and not more than 200 percent of the Federal poverty level is $320.
2. No fee is charged applicants who naturalize through service in the military.

Under the new system, applicants seeking a waiver of fees will submit Form I-942, Request for Reduced Fee and Form N-400, Application for Naturalization. 

Other Fees Increases

Employment Based

Form	Benefit Request	Current Fee	New Fee
I–129	Petition for a Nonimmigrant worker	$325	$460
I–140	Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker	$580	$700

Family Based

Form	Benefit Request	Current Fee	New Fee
I–129F	Petition for Alien Fiancé(e)	$340	$535
I-130	Petition for Alien Relative	$420	$535
I–751	Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence	$505 ($590)	$595 ($680)

Permanent Resident Card, Adjustment,  and Change of Status

Form	Benefit Request	Current Fee	New Fee
I–90	Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card	$365 ($450)	$455 ($540)
I–485	Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status	$985 ($1,070)	$1,140 ($1,225)
	Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (certain applicants under the age of 14 years)	$635	$750
I–539	Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status	$290	$370
I–765	Application for Employment Authorization	$380	$410
I-131	Application for Travel Document	$360	$575

Appeals and Waivers

Form	Benefit Request	Current Fee	New Fee
I-212	Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the U.S. After Deportation or Removal	$585	$930
I–290B	Notice of Appeal or Motion	$630	$675
I-601	Application for Waiver of Ground of Excludability	$585	$930
I–601A	Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver	$585	$630
I-191	Application for Relief Under Former Section 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)	$585	$930
I-192	Application for Advance Permission to Enter as Nonimmigrant	$585	$585 $930

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