USCIS has announced an increase in immigration fees for filing forms and petitions.
After a “brief” discussion, USCIS published news that new fees for filing forms and petitions will take effect on April 1, 2024. The updated fees will affect a large number of forms, including the commonly used I-130, I-131, I-485 and I-765.
Public discussion of the new fees began in January 2023 and ended in January this year. During this time, USCIS received 5,400 comments which the agency “took into account.”
In its statement, USCIS states that “the new fees will not increase by more than 26%, which is equivalent to the increase in the Consumer Price Index since the last fee rule was issued in 2016.”
One of the nice things is a $50 discount for online filing of forms, as USCIS is making every effort to digitize its work and encourage all applicants to do the same. We fully support them in this. In addition, the immigration service continues to cancel biometrics requirements and waive fees for certain forms.
Examples of how fees will change:
I-129 H-1B $460 -> $780;
I-130 Petition for Alien Relative (online filing) $535 -> $625;
I-131 Application for Travel Doc. $575 -> $630;
I-765 Application for EAD (online filing) $410 -> $470;
You can find a full list of updated fees in the New Fee Schedule Table:
https://www.uscis.gov/frequently-asked-questions-on-the-uscis-fee-rule
USCIS provides for reduced fees for small and non-profit companies when filing Form I-129. Also, from April 1, USCIS will only use the new versions of Forms I-129, I-140, and I-600.
If you do not want to overpay for filing forms, we advise submitting your applications as soon as possible, especially those who will be applying for a Green Card.
The new fees will allow USCIS to more fully recover its operating costs, restore and maintain timely case processing, and prevent the accumulation of pending cases in the future. USCIS receives 96% of its funding from filing fees rather than congressional appropriations.