United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) declared they will increase fees for most US immigration services. Only the naturalization fee will remain same. The raise is an effort to close the $200 million deficit for fiscal year 2010-11.
Mainly fees are probable to rise by an average of about 10 percent. In few cases, fees will in fact drop and fee waivers will be extended to number of "fresh categories". The increase in fees will go into effect on 23 November, 2010
USCIS's resources depend closely on income resulting from fees for the services that the organization offers. Applications and petitions fees accounted for around 90 percent of its $2.4 billion yearly budget.
The fee raise is already facing condemnation. The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) declared that they are "disappointed" with the fee raise and feel that USCIS is overreaching themselves in their effort to remedy their budgetary woes.
"Most of the government expenditures being underwritten by these fees are not related to the services for which fees are being paid. These are issues of public advantage, and should be finance by appropriations, not applicants," said AILA President Bernard Wolfsdorf.
"Whereas a 10 percent fee rise in and of itself may not seem high, this comes only 3 years after a 66 percent USCIS fee raise. Taken collectively, these raise bring a number of fees to extreme levels," Wolfsdorf added.
Wolfsdorf affirmed that, actually, earlier fee raise have resulted in a noticeable decline in the excellence and effectiveness of USCIS services.
USCIS received a huge entry of applications and petitions leading up to the earlier 66 percent fee raise, which resulted in huge backlogs, forces USCIS to look for assistance from external contractors to help contract with the workload.
AILA did say that there was single silver lining to the fee raise: fees for citizenship applications would not increase. Fees for citizenship raised by 70 percent in 2007, which immigrant-rights groups complained place citizenship out of reach of poorer immigrants.
Below is a table detailing the new US immigration fees changes:
| Form No. | Description | Existing Fees (effective through Nov. 22, 2010 | Adjusted Fees (effective beginning Nov. 23, 2010) |
|---|---|---|---|
| I-90 | Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card | $290 | $365 |
| I-102 | Application for Replacement/Initial Non immigrant Arrival-Departure Document | $320 | $330 |
| I-129/129CW | Petition for a Non immigrant Worker | $320 | $325 |
| I-129F | Petition for Alien Fiance(e) | $455 | $340 |
| I-130 | Petition for Alien Relative | $355 | $420 |
| I-131 | Application for Travel Document | $305 | $360 |
| I-140 | Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker | $475 | $580 |
| I-191 | Application for Advance Permission to Return to Relinquished Domicile | $545 | $585 |
| I-192 | Application for Advance Permission to Enter as Non immigrant | $545 | $585 |
| I-193 | Application for Waiver of Passport and/or Visa | $545 | $585 |
| I-212 | Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the U.S. after Deportation or Removal | $545 | $585 |
| I-290B | Notice of Appeal or Motion | $585 | $630 |
| I-360 | Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant | $375 | $405 |
| I-485 | Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status | $930 | $985 |
| I-526 | Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur | $1,435 | $1,500 |
| I-539 | Application to Extend/Change Non immigrant Status | $300 | $290 |
| I-600/600A I-800/800A | Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative/Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition | $670 | $720 |
| I-601 | Application for Waiver of Ground of Excludability | $545 | $585 |
| I-612 | Application for Waiver of the Foreign Residence Requirement | $545 | $585 |
| I-687 | Application for Status as a Temporary Resident under Sections 245A or 210 of the Immigration and Nationality Act | $710 | $1,130 |
| I-690 | Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility | $185 | $200 |
| I-694 | Notice of Appeal of Decision under Sections 245A or 210 of the Immigration and Nationality Act | $545 | $755 |
| I-698 | Application to Adjust Status from Temporary to Permanent Resident (Under Section 245A of Public Law 99-603) | $1,370 | $1,020 |
| I-751 | Petition to Remove the Conditions of Residence | $465 | $505 |
| I-765 | Application for Employment Authorization | $340 | $380 |
| I-817 | Application for Family Unity Benefits | $440 | $435 |
| I-824 | Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition | $340 | $405 |
| I-829 | Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions | $2,850 | $3,750 |
| I-881 | Application for Suspension of Deportation or Special Rule Cancellation of Removal (Pursuant to Section 203 of Public Law 105–110) | $285 | $285 |
| I-907 | Request for Premium Processing Service | $1,000 | $1,225 |
| Civil Surgeon Designation | $0 | $615 | |
| I-924 | Application for Regional Center under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program | $0 | $6,230 |
| N-300 | Application to File Declaration of Intention | $235 | $250 |
| N-336 | Request for Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings | $605 | $650 |
| N-400 | Application for Naturalization | $595 | $595 |
| N-470 | Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes | $305 | $330 |
| N-565 | Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document | $380 | $345 |
| N-600/600K | Application for Certification of Citizenship/ Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate under Section 322 | $460 | $600 |
| Immigrant Visa DHS Domestic Processing | $0 | $165 | |
| Biometrics | Capturing, Processing, and Storing Biometric Information | $80 | $85 |
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