USCIS Will Adjust Filing Fees on October 2, 2020

Effective October 2, 2020, filing fees for certain non-immigrant, immigrant, and naturalization benefit requests will be adjusted to help meet U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) operational needs.  As a fee-funded agency, USCIS would be underfunded by around $1 billion per year based on current fees, and the adjustments in fees will help the agency recover its costs of services.  Applications, petitions, or requests postmarked on or after October 2, 2020, must include payment of new fees as established by a final rule from the DHS, which can be read here.

Some notable fee adjustments in the final rule include the following:

• Form I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker:  Current fee $460.  Increases for H-1B category to $555, for L-1 category to $805, and for O-1 category to $705.
• Form I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status:  Increase from $370 to $400
• Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization (Non-DACA): Increase from $410 to $550
• Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative: Increase from $535 to $560.
• Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker: Decrease from $700 to $555.
• Form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status: Change to $1,130.  There will no longer be a reduced child fee, and there is an additional $1,080 fee for certain asylum applicants.
• Form N-400 Application for Naturalization: Increase to $1,170. There will no longer be a reduced fee option for an applicant whose documented income is higher than 150% but equal to or less than 200% of the Federal poverty level.

There is also a $10 reduction in the filing fee for online applications, if an online option is available.

For more information on any specific filing fee adjustments, please view the table that starts on page 13 of the final rule from DHS.

If you have any questions, please contact your Gibney representative.