On January 3, 2023, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to adjust the fees for certain benefits.
The 60-day comment period started at the time of publication of the proposed rulemaking. The fees will not increase until the 60-day comment period is over and the final rule goes into effect.
Among the many proposed changes, the more salient are the following:
- Creating lower fees for forms filed online. It is important to note that not all forms are available at this time for online filing.
- Requiring separate filing fees for Form I-485 and associated forms I-131 and I-765. Currently the I-131, Application for Advance Parole and the I-765, Application for Employment authorization are included in the $1,140.00 fee for the Adjustment of Status.
- Incorporate biometrics costs (currently $85.00) to the main benefit fee and remove the current separate biometrics fee.
- Revising the premium processing timeframe interpretation from calendar days to business days.
- Requiring separate fees for Form I-29, Petition for Nonimmigrant worker, by nonimmigrant classification.
Under the proposed rulemaking, the filing fee for Adjustment of Status, requesting employment authorization and advance parole (travel document) will increase by 230%, from $1,225.00 to $2,820.00 per adult.