Preparing for October 2, 2020 Adjustments in USCIS Fees and Procedures

Preparing for October 2, 2020 Adjustments in USCIS Fees and Procedures

On July 31, 2020, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a final rule adjusting fees in order to meet operational needs and implementing other related procedural adjustments effective October 2, 2020.  Many of the adjustments to these fees and associated procedures can have big impacts on monetary considerations when filing for immigration benefits.  Below are some main takeaways from the new rule that may be relevant to applications we see regularly in Guam and the CNMI:

DACA– Removes the proposed fee ($275) for Form I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, filed for renewal of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Maintains the DACA fees as in effect before September 5, 2017, at $410 for employment authorization and $85 for biometric service.

ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS- Removes the reduced Form I-485 filing fee for children under the age of 14 filing with their parent. A standard Form I-485 fee of $1,130 will apply to all applicants.

Requires separate fees for Forms I-765 ($550) and Forms I-131 ($590) filed in connection with applications for adjustment of status, more than doubling the total cost of filing an adjustment of status application package to $2,270.

Provides a $50 reduction in the fee for Form I-485 filed in the future for principal applicants who pay the $50 fee for Form I-589 and are subsequently granted asylum.

PREMIUM PROCESSING- The final rule also lengthens the timeframe for USCIS to take an adjudicative action on petitions filed with a request for premium processing from 15 calendar days to 15 business days.

The Premium Processing fee can automatically increase annually without notice and comment rulemaking if the fee increase will only be in accordance with the increase in the Consumer Price Index.

ASYLUM- Establishes a $50 filing fee for Form I-589.

Provides a $50 reduction in the fee for Form I-485 filed in the future for principal applicants who pay the $50 fee for Form I-589 and are subsequently granted asylum.

BIOMETRICS- Creates a $30 biometrics fee for TPS initial applicants and re-registrants and asylum applicants and long-term CNMI residents filing a Form I-765.

Removes the $85 biometrics fee for most other applications.

EMPLOYMENT BASED IMMIGRATION- Creates separate fees and forms for each visa classification filed on Form I-129, with fees increasing as much as 75 percent for an L-1 petition.

USCIS is limiting the number of named beneficiaries to 25 that may be included on a single petition for H-2A, H-2B, H-3, O-2 P, Q, E, and TN workers.

PL 111-230 fees for employers with significant numbers of H/L employees (“50-50 rule”) will now also apply to H-1B and L-1 extension petitions, in addition to initial petitions. It will not apply to amended petitions that are not seeking an associated extension request.

NATURALIZATION- The filing fee for a Form N-400 will increase 83 percent from to $640 to $1,170. The final rule eliminates the reduced Form N-400 fee option for certain applicants.

SECURE DOCUMENTATION- USCIS will send secure identification documents, such as Permanent Resident Cards or EADs, only to the applicant or self-petitioner unless they expressly consent to having the document sent to a designated agent, their attorney or accredited representative and the designated agent, attorney or accredited representative will be required to provide identification and sign for receipt of the document.