United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently published a Final Rule regarding application fee changes. These fee changes went into effect on April 1, 2024.
While it is a curious day to begin the rollout of new fees, the last time that fees were increased was in 2016, and so, these changes are being implemented to support the agency’s operations and to address financial challenges affecting USCIS.
USCIS is funded primarily by fees charged to applicants and petitioners for immigration and naturalization benefit requests. These fee changes caused the costs associated with filing some applications with USCIS to rise precipitously, while others stayed the same, and still others do not change at all.
Please note that there is no grace period after the implementation of these new fees, and so it will be very important to ensure that you have calculated and submitted the proper and most up-to-date fees to USCIS at the time of filing.
Below is a snapshot of some of the fee changes that will affect our immigration clients the most:
Discounts for filing online: For some applications, a discount will be applied if their filing is submitted online, as opposed to a paper filing being submitted via mail. A benefit of filing applications online with USCIS is that Receipt Notices for matters like Form I-589 Asylum applications and Form I-765 Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Applications are often (though not always) received much faster than when filing via mail.
Fee waivers: This new rule ensures that fee waivers will continue to be available for applicants who received means-tested public benefits, or have income at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, or who can demonstrate appropriate hardship.
T-Visas, U-Visas, and Asylum Applications: These applications still, as before the new Rule, do not have fees associated with their initial filings. However, subsequent filings, such as a renewal Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization Document, may have fees associated.
To schedule a consultation regarding your immigration case, call our experienced Fairfax and Loudoun immigration attorney at 703-570-4232 or email us at info@khannalaw.com.
About Khanna Law, PLLC:
Khanna Law is a full-service law firm located in Reston Virginia. We specialize in all aspects of family & business based immigration law, as well as trust and estate law. We proudly serve clients throughout the Northern Virginia area including Fairfax, Loudoun, Arlington, and Prince William County.
Written By Priti Khanna
Priti Khanna is the principal attorney and founder of Khanna Law, PLLC. Priti’s primary fields of practice are family law and immigration, and she regularly handles complex litigation related to custody, divorce, child and support matters.
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