May 30 2007

USCIS Publishes Final Fee Schedule for Immigration Services

After a detailed review of more than 3,900 public comments, USCIS announced this week the final, revised fee schedules for immigration services. The rule, which was published today in the Federal Register, sets all fees for the processing of immigration benefit applications and petitions. Major revisions to the final fee structure include a 25% reduction to the proposed filing fee for Form I-485, the Adjustment of Status to Permanent Resident for children age 14 and younger. In addition, the final rule allows for a one-time, free extension of approved orphan petitions for people interested in adoption. Fee waivers for some adjustment of status cases for asylum and humanitarian candidates and some juvenile immigrants were also increased as part of this final rule. Finally, USCIS, as stated in this final rule, will be able to waive the $80 biometric fee, along with the application/petition fee on an individual basis.

“We proposed our new fee structure with the expectation of ongoing discussions with the public on this important issue,” said Emilio Gonzalez, director, USCIS, in a recent public statement. “The volume and value of the comments we received has provided an opportunity to fine-tune our final fee structure that we believe is both fair to our customers and vital to our Nation as we continue to build a secure and efficient national immigration service.”

For a full list of the new fee structure published in this final rule, please visit the USCIS fact sheet at: http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/FinalUSCISFeeSchedule052907.pdf.