Questions and Answers: After Public Comment, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Announces Final Rule Adjusting Fees for Immigration Benefits.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced a final rule adjusting fees for immigration applications and petitions. The final rule follows a period of public comment on a proposed version of the rule, which USCIS published in the Federal Register on June 11, 2010. After encouraging stakeholders to share their input, USCIS considered all 225 comments received. The final rule will increase overall fees by a weighted average of about 10 percent but will not increase the fee for the naturalization application. The rule will also reduce fees for six individual applications and petitions and will expand the availability of fee waivers to new categories. The final rule will be published in the Federal Register September 24, and the adjusted fees will go into effect on November 23, 2010.

USCIS is a primarily fee-based organization with about 90 percent of its budget coming from fees paid by applicants and petitioners for immigration benefits. The law requires USCIS to conduct fee reviews every two years to determine whether it is recovering its costs to administer the nation’s immigration laws, process applications and provide the infrastructure needed to support those activities. Remaining funds come from appropriations provided annually by Congress. The final fee rule concludes a comprehensive fee review begun in 2009.

Questions and Answers: Highlights of 2010 Fee Rule

Q. What are some of the major features of the 2010 fee rule?
A. The fee rule will increase the average application and petition fees by approximately 10 percent. In addition, the fee rule:

• Contains no increase in the naturalization application fee, in recognition of the unique importance of naturalization.

• Establishes new fees for regional center designation under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program (EB-5); individuals seeking civil surgeon designation (with an exemption for certain physicians who examine servicemembers, veterans, and their families at U.S. government facilities); and the recovery of the USCIS cost of processing immigrant visas granted by the Department of State.

• Adjusts fees for the premium processing service to ensure that USCIS can continue to modernize as an efficient and effective organization.

• Reduces fees for six individual applications and petitions: Petition for Alien Fiancé (Form I-129F); Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status (Form I-539); Application to Adjust Status From Temporary To Permanent Resident (Form I-698); Application for Family Unity Benefits (Form I-817); Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document (Form N-565); and Application for Travel Document (Form I-131), when filed for Refugee Travel Document.

• Eliminates two citizenship-related fees for those servicemembers and veterans of the U.S. armed forces who are eligible to file an Application for Naturalization (Form N-400) with no fee: Request for Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings (Form N-336) and Application for Certificate of Citizenship (Form N-600).

• Expands fee-waiver eligibility to certain applicants and petitioners, including individuals seeking to appeal the denial of underlying applications or petitions that required no fee, individuals applying for humanitarian parole with an Application for Travel Document (Form I-131), and individuals with an Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status (Form I-539) who are covered under the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008.