By Darius Amiri, Chair of Rose Law Group Immigration Dept.
damiri@roselawgroup.com
It turns out immigration fees are also susceptible to inflation!
Beginning February 26, 2024, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will increase premium processing fees for various types of immigrant and nonimmigrant visas.
Premium processing is a mechanism by which the Petitioner for a certain visa category can pay an increased fee in order to obtain an expedited decision, in most cases 15 or 45 days from filing, instead of months.
The premium processing fee for the I-129 nonimmigrant worker category and the I-140 employer petition category will be increasing from $2,500 to $2,805, the fees for an I-539 extension or change of status will increase from $1,750 to $1,965, and the fees for premium processing an H-2B temporary non-agricultural worker petition, F-1 student visa, some types of I-765 employment authorization or an R-1 religious worker petition will rise from $1,500 to $1,685.
In addition to hikes in premium processing fees, USCIS will also increase the cost of filing other petitions, such as the fiancé visa, family based immigrant visas (green cards), and applications to remove conditions on temporary residency.
Finally, USCIS will stop waiving fees for associated forms when someone is filing to adjust their status from non-immigrant to immigrant visa. For example, an employment authorization document or travel document that previously was covered by the same filing fee for the adjustment of status form will now be considered an additional fee. The fee increases beyond premium processing are set to roll out later in the year, as early as March 2024.
So, anyone considering an immigration application on any of the above mentioned areas and looking to save money should consider filing now before these fee increases take effect.
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