USCIS Issues Proposed Rule on Immigration Petition Fees (Mostly Increases)

USCIS has published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that would lead to various revisions of the fee schedule governing immigration applications.  Comments on the proposed rule are due July 5, 2016.  Although the proposed fees involve a reduction of the fee for naturalization applications (along with a 3-tier fee structure), a number of other fees would increase significantly.  As USCIS explains on its website, the agency’s bienniel review “indicates a 21 percent weighted average fee increase is necessary to ensure full cost recovery,” and that immigration fees comprised “approximately 94 percent of USCIS’ FY 2015 funding.”

-JKoh