Last week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released an advance copy of a final rule, which should be officiality published today, August 3, 2020. The rule provides that starting October 2, 2020 USCIS will be increasing the filing fees for certain immigration forms. Filing fees cover most of the operating costs of USCIS and were last increased in December 2016. 

Below are some of the filing fee increases for some commonly used forms: 

 

Old Fee New Fee
Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card $455.00 $415.00*
Form I-129F Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) $535.00 $510.00
Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative $535.00 $560.00*
Form I-131 Application for Travel Document $575.00 $590.00
Form I-192 Application for Advance Permission to Enter as Nonimmigrant $930.00 $1,400.00
Form I-212 Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the U.S. After Deportation or Removal $930.00 $1,050.00
Form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence $1,140.00 $1,130.00
Form I-601 Application for Waiver of Ground of Excludability $930.00 $1,010.00
Form I-601A Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver $630.00 $960.00
Form I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence $595.00 $760.00
Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization $410.00 $550.00
Form N-400 Application for Naturalization $640.00 $1,170.00*

*USCIS will provide a $10.00 discount to the filing fee for filing these forms online.

 

Other changes worth noting include: 

  • There will no longer be a separate biometrics (fingerprint) services fee. The cost for biometrics services will now be included in the filing fee. 
  • The filing fee for applications to renew Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) will remain the same; however, pursuant to the memo published by DHS in July 2020, DACA recipients will need to renew every year, rather than every two years.  
  • The rule will discontinue the bundling of filing fees for Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization) and Form I-131 (Application for Travel Document) filed concurrently with Form I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status). Under the prior rule, applicants who submitted Form I-485 and paid the filing fee did not need to pay the filing fee for concurrently filed Forms I-765 and I-131. Under the new rule, the applicant will need to pay the filing fee for all three forms. 
  • The reduced filing fee naturalization applicants will be eliminated.  
  • The ability to apply for a fee waiver will be limited and the requirements to apply for a fee waiver will change. USCIS will be publishing a new version for Form I-192, Request for Fee Waiver. 

 Click here to see the full rule. 

Note: These new fees are effective October 2, 2020. Any applications mailed on or after this date must have the new fee.