UPDATE: USCIS will publish its final fee rule on August 3, 2020. It will become effective 60 days later. The rule also makes changes to Form I-129, premium processing, and other fee processing changes. The content below relates to the proposed fee rule, and is maintained for reference purposes only.
Refer to NAFSA's final fee rule page for current information.
On November 14, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) proposed changing application and petition filing fees and making other forms processing changes.
- FINAL RULE, to be published on August 3, 2020 (view the public inspection copy now); will be effective 60 days later (October 3, 2020)
- Proposed rule, published at 84 FR 62280 (November 14, 2019)
- Notice extending the comment period until December 30, 2019, published at 84 FR 67243 (December 9, 2019)
- Notice extending the comment period until February 10, 2020, published at 85 FR 4243 (January 24, 2020)
- Proposal supplemental information, including proposed versions of revised forms and instructions
Comments on the Proposal
- NAFSA's Comment Letter (December 19, 2019)
- ACE Higher Education Letter (December 23, 2019)
Quick-Reference of Proposed Changes to Fees for Forms Frequently Encountered in Higher Education
Form # | Form Title | Current Fee | Proposed Fee | % Change |
I-102 |
Application for Replacement/Initial Nonimmigrant Arrival-Departure Document |
$445 |
$ 490 |
10% |
I-129 |
Petition for a Nonimmigrant worker
Currently, there is a single fee of $460 for Form I-129, which contains a variety of supplements used for the different petition-based categories. Under the proposal, USCIS will create separate forms for different category groupings, and charge different fees for the new form types. See Proposal supplemental information, for all proposed revised forms and instructions. |
$460 |
|
|
I-131 | Application for Travel Document (including advance parole) | $575 | $ 585 | 2% |
I-140 |
Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker |
$700 |
$ 545 |
-22% |
I-193 | Application for Waiver of Passport and/or Visa | $585 | $ 2,205 | 377% |
I-290B |
Notice of Appeal or Motion |
$675 |
$ 705 |
4% |
I-485 |
Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status Although the base I-485 application fee will be lowered, it will no longer include the fee for Form I-765 (employment) and Form I-131 (advance parole). Adjustment applicants who wish to file for those benefits must submit separate payments with those ancillary applications. And so, whereas currently an adjustment applicant pays $1,140 for adjustment, employment, and advance parole, under the proposal the same applicant would pay almost double: $1,120 for adjustment, $545 for employment, and $ 585 for advance parole, resulting in fees of $2,250, a 97% net hike of $1,110. |
$1,140 |
$ 1,120 |
-2% |
I-539 |
Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status |
$370 |
$ 400 |
8% |
I-765 |
Application for Employment Authorization |
$410 |
$ 490 |
20% |
The above table lists only the forms most frequently encountered in higher education. See Table 19 (reproduced below) and the Federal Register notice for a complete list of proposed changes to forms and fees and USCIS' rationale for the changes. See Proposal supplemental information, for all proposed revised forms and instructions.
Aside from fee and form changes, USCIS also proposes the following:
- Implement Signature Confirmation Restricted Delivery as the sole method of delivery of secure documents (such as green cards, EADs, and advance parole authorizations). In 2018, USCIS had partially implemented this protocol for documents that need to be re-mailed because they have been returned as non-deliverable.
- If a check or other financial instrument used to pay a fee is returned as unpayable because of insufficient funds, USCIS will resubmit the payment to the remitter institution one time.
- Remove the $30 charge for dishonored payments.
- Limit fee waivers only to VAWA self-petitioners, T and U nonimmigrants, certain battered spouses and children, and TPS applicants. Extremely limited exceptions. Fee waivers could generally no longer be requested for Forms I-765 and I-539.
- Incorporate the biometric services cost into the underlying immigration benefit request fee instead of charging a flat $85 biometric services fee.
- Change the premium processing timeframe from 15 calendar days to 15 business days.
- Consistently apply the $4,000 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee (Sec. 411(b) Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act, 49 USC Ch. 401 notes) to all petitioners filing a new or extension H-1B petition who employ 50 or more employees in the United States if more than 50 percent of the petitioner's employees in the aggregate are in H-1B, L-1A or L-1B nonimmigrant status, except for petitioners filing an amended petition without an extension of stay request. This fee would apply to petitions filed on or before September 30, 2027. A similar payment (for $4,500) would apply to covered L-1 petitions. USCIS does not keep the 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit fee. CBP receives 50 percent of it and the remaining 50 percent is deposited into the General Fund of the Treasury.
See the Federal Register notice for a complete list of proposed fee and form changes and other proposals, and instructions on submitting comments. Public comments must be received on or before December 16, 2019.
Table 19
Table 19 from the Federal Register notice preamble.
"Table 19 depicts the current and proposed USCIS fees for immigration benefit requests and biometric services. For a more detailed description of the basis for the changes described in this table, see Appendix Table 3 in the FY 2019/2020 Fee Review Supporting Documentation accompanying this proposed rule."
Immigration benefit request | Current fee | Proposed fee | Delta ($) | Percent change |
---|---|---|---|---|
I-90 Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card | $455 | $415 | −$40 | −9% |
I-102 Application for Replacement/Initial Nonimmigrant Arrival-Departure Document | 445 | 490 | 45 | 10 |
I-129 Petition for a Nonimmigrant worker | 460 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
I-129H1 I-129 H-1B—Named Beneficiaries | 460 | 560 | 100 | 22 |
I-129H2A I-129 H-2A—Named Beneficiaries | 460 | 860 | 400 | 87 |
I-129H2B I-129 H-2B—Named Beneficiaries | 460 | 725 | 265 | 58 |
I-129L Petition for L Nonimmigrant Worker | 460 | 815 | 355 | 77 |
I-129O Petition for O Nonimmigrant Worker | 460 | 715 | 255 | 55 |
I-129CW, I-129E&TN, and I-129MISCV Petition for a CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker; Application for Nonimmigrant Worker: E and TN Classification; and Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker: H-3, P, Q, or R Classification. | 460 | 705 | 245 | 53 |
I-129H2A I-129 H-2A—Unnamed Beneficiaries | 460 | 425 | −35 | −8 |
I-129H2B I-129 H-2B—Unnamed Beneficiaries | 460 | 395 | −65 | −14 |
I-129F Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) | 535 | 520 | −15 | −3 |
I-130 Petition for Alien Relative | 535 | 555 | 20 | 4 |
I-131 Application for Travel Document | 575 | 585 | 10 | 2 |
I-131 Travel Document for an individual age 16 or older | 135 | 145 | 10 | 7 |
I-131 I-131 Refugee Travel Document for a child under the age of 16 | 105 | 115 | 10 | 10 |
I-131A Application for Carrier Documentation | 575 | 1,010 | 435 | 76 |
I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker | 700 | 545 | −155 | −22 |
I-191 Application for Relief Under Former Section 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) | 930 | 800 | −130 | −14 |
I-192 Application for Advance Permission to Enter as Nonimmigrant | 585/930 | 1,415 | 830/485 | 142/52 |
I-193 Application for Waiver of Passport and/or Visa | 585 | 2,790 | 2,205 | 377 |
I-212 Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the U.S. After Deportation or Removal | 930 | 1,040 | 110 | 12 |
I-290B Notice of Appeal or Motion | 675 | 705 | 30 | 4 |
I-360 Petition for Amerasian Widow(er) or Special Immigrant | 435 | 455 | 20 | 5 |
I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status | 1,140/750 | 1,120 | −20/370 | −2/49 |
I-526 Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur | 3,675 | 4,015 | 340 | 9 |
I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status | 370 | 400 | 30 | 8 |
I-589 Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal | 0 | 50 | 50 | N/A |
I-600/600A Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative/Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition | 775 | 810 | 35 | 5 |
I-600A/I-600 Supp. 3 Request for Action on Approved Form I-600A/I-600 | N/A | 405 | N/A | N/A |
I-601 Application for Waiver of Ground of Excludability | 930 | 985 | 55 | 6 |
I-601A Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver | 630 | 960 | 330 | 52 |
I-612 Application for Waiver of the Foreign Residence Requirement (Under Section 212(e) of the INA, as Amended) | 930 | 525 | −405 | −44 |
I-687 Application for Status as a Temporary Resident under Section 245A of the Immigration and Nationality Act | 1,130 | 1,130 | 0 | 0 |
I-690 Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility | 715 | 770 | 55 | 8 |
I-694 Notice of Appeal of Decision | 890 | 725 | −165 | −19 |
I-698 Application to Adjust Status From Temporary to Permanent Resident (Under Section 245A of the INA) | 1,670 | 1,615 | −55 | −3 |
I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence | 595 | 760 | 165 | 28 |
I-765 Application for Employment Authorization | 410 | 490 | 80 | 20 |
I-800/800A Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative/Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country | 775 | 810 | 35 | 5 |
I-800A Supp. 3 Request for Action on Approved Form I-800A | 385 | 405 | 20 | 5 |
I-817 Application for Family Unity Benefits | 600 | 590 | −10 | −2 |
I-821D Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Renewal) | 0 | 275 | 275 | N/A |
I-824 Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition | 465 | 500 | 35 | 8 |
I-829 Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status | 3,750 | 3,900 | 150 | 4 |
I-881 Application for Suspension of Deportation or Special Rule Cancellation of Removal | 185 285/570 | 1,800 | 1,515/1,230 | 532/216 |
I-910 Application for Civil Surgeon Designation | 785 | 650 | −135 | −17 |
I-924 Application for Regional Center Designation Under the Immigrant Investor Program | 17,795 | 17,795 | 0 | 0 |
I-924A Annual Certification of Regional Center | 3,035 | 4,470 | 1,435 | 47 |
I-929 Petition for Qualifying Family Member of a U-1 Nonimmigrant | 230 | 1,515 | 1,285 | 559 |
I-941 Application for Entrepreneur Parole | 1,200 | 1,200 | 0 | 0 |
N-300 Application to File Declaration of Intention | 270 | 1,320 | 1,050 | 389 |
N-336 Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings | 700 | 1,755 | 1,055 | 151 |
N-400 Application for Naturalization | 640/320 | 1,170 | 530 | 83 |
N-470 Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes | 355 | 1,600 | 1,245 | 266 |
N-565 Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document | 555 | 545 | −10 | −2 |
N-600 Application for Certificate of Citizenship | 1,170 | 1,015 | −155 | −13 |
N-600K Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate Under Section 322 | 1,170 | 960 | −210 | −18 |
USCIS Immigrant Fee | 220 | 200 | −20 | −9 |
G-1041 Genealogy Index Search Request | 65 | 240 | 175 | 269 |
G-1041A Genealogy Records Request | 65 | 385 | 320 | 492 |
Biometric Services | 85 | 30 | −55 | −65 |
"Subject to certain limitations, the fees that DHS proposes in this rule may change in the subsequent final rule based on policy decisions, in response to public comments, intervening legislation, and other changes. DHS will explain any changes between the proposed and final fees."