Immigration
United States | New USCIS fee rule
Summary
The fee schedule from 2016 no longer covers USCIS’ operational costs to timely adjudicate USCIS immigration and naturalization benefits. USCIS needs higher fees to cover the cost of doing business and better avoid the accumulation of future backlogs. USCIS will increase their fees because they largely operate as a fee-funded government organization unlike other government agencies. Approximately 96% of USCIS’ funding is from filing fees, and only about 4% is from congressional appropriations which is mostly used to cover operations and support work as well as federal assistance that includes citizenship and integration grants. This new fee rule is estimated to generate an additional $1.14 billion per year in USCIS revenue compared with the previous fee schedule baseline. USCIS needs this amount as it is necessary to match agency capacity with projected workloads, so that backlogs do not accumulate in the future.
The detail
Please see the following table, showing the most pertinent filing fee changes, which compares the previously enacted fee and the final rule fee that goes into effect on April 1, 2024. For the full list of changes, please refer to: Frequently Asked Questions on the USCIS Fee Rule
| Type of Filing | Current Fee(s) | Final Fee(s) | Change in Current vs. Final Fees | Percentage Change |
| I-129 H-1B | $460 | $780 | $320 | 70% |
| I-129 H-1B (small employers and nonprofits) | $460 | $460 | $0 | 0% |
| I-129 Petition for L Nonimmigrant workers | $460 | $1,385 | $925 | 201% |
| I-129 Petition for L Nonimmigrant workers (small employers and nonprofits) | $460 | $695 | $235 | 51% |
| I-129 Petition for O Nonimmigrant workers | $460 | $1,055 | $595 | 129% |
| I-129 Petition for O Nonimmigrant workers (small employers and nonprofits) | $460 | $530 | $70 | 15% |
| I-129CW CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker and I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker: E, H-3, P, Q, R, or TN Classifications | $460 | $1,015 | $555 | 121% |
| I-129CW CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker and I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker: E, H-3, P, Q, R, or TN Classifications (with biometric services) | $545 | $1,015 | $470 | 85% |
| I-129CW Petition for a CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker and I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker: E, H-3, P, Q, R, or TN Classifications (small employers and nonprofits) | $460 | $510 | $50 | 11% |
| I-129CW Petition for a CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker and I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker: E, H-3, P, Q, R, or TN Classifications (small employers and nonprofits) (with biometric services) | $545 | $510 | -$35 | -6% |
| I-130 Petition for Alien Relative (online filing) | $535 | $625 | $90 | 17% |
| I-130 Petition for Alien Relative (paper filing) | $535 | $675 | $140 | 26% |
| I-131 Application for Travel Document | $575 | $630 | $55 | 10% |
| I-131 Application for Travel Document (with biometric services) | $660 | $630 | -$30 | -5% |
| I-131 Refugee Travel Document for an individual age 16 or older | $135 | $165 | $30 | 22% |
| I-131 Refugee Travel Document for an individual age 16 or older (with biometric services) | $220 | $165 | -$55 | -25% |
| I-131 Refugee Travel Document for a child under the age of 16 | $105 | $135 | $30 | 29% |
| I-131 Refugee Travel Document for a child under the age of 16 (with biometric services) | $190 | $135 | -$55 | -29% |
| I-131A Application for Travel Document (Carrier Documentation) | $575 | $575 | $0 | 0% |
| I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers | $700 | $715 | $15 | 2% |
| I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (with biometric services) | $1,140 | $1,440 | $300 | 26% |
| I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status | $1,225 | $1,440 | $215 | 18% |
| I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (under the age of 14 in certain conditions) | $750 | $950 | $200 | 27% |
| I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status (online filing) | $370 | $420 | $50 | 14% |
| I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status (online filing) (with biometric services) | $455 | $420 | -$35 | -8% |
| I-539 Application to Extend/ Change Nonimmigrant Status (paper filing) | $370 | $470 | $100 | 27% |
| I-539 Application to Extend/ Change Nonimmigrant Status (paper filing) (with biometric services) | $455 | $470 | $15 | 3% |
| I-765 Application for Employment Authorization (online filing) | $410 | $470 | $60 | 15% |
| I-765 Application for Employment Authorization (online filing) (with biometric services) | $495 | $470 | -$25 | -5% |
| I-765 Application for Employment Authorization (paper filing) | $410 | $520 | $110 | 27% |
| I-765 Application for Employment Authorization (paper filing) (with biometric services) | $495 | $520 | $25 | 5% |
| I-824 Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition | $465 | $590 | $125 | 27% |
| USCIS Immigrant Fee | $220 | $235 | $15 | 7% |
| H-1B Registration Process Fee | $10 | $215 | $205 | 2,050% |
| Biometric Services limited circumstances | $85 | $30 | -$55 | -65% |
Further changes include:
What this means
Employers and applicants will now need to pay a different fee based on the form they file to USCIS; these new fees go into effect on April 1, 2024. Any petition postmarked on or after this date must be accompanied by new fees.
Contact us
Please reach out to
Manish Daftari
to discuss further.
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Further information on Vialto Partners can be found here: www.vialtopartners.com
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