The Biden Administration is reviewing proposed changes to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) fees. A proposal is expected in September 2022 for public comment. Originally, the proposed updated fees were to be released in November 2021. That deadline was moved to March 2022. USCIS sent its proposal to the White House on Monday, June 27, 2022, for review. This is the last step before the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can show the proposed fees to the public.
USCIS last updated its fees in 2016. Rates, on average, went up slightly over 20%. In 2020, rates were proposed to increase to cover USCIS costs as the organization was not able to continue operating. At that time, Congress gave USCIS the option to extend premium processing services to more application types, increasing their revenue. USCIS saw an increase in fees paid of over $1 billion with the premium processing extension. As such, a planned furlough was averted. Subsequently, the proposed USCIS fees increase in 2020 was blocked.
2022 proposed USCIS fees are said to recover USCIS operating costs per a notice from the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). This proposal round rescinds and replaces the 2020 proposed amounts.
If you have questions about immigration fees or any other immigration-related issue, contact us. We are with you every step of the way.