New Immigration and Naturalization Fees in the United States: USCIS Reports

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) informed through its official website at the beginning of this year about certain modifications soon to be applied to the costs of obtaining American citizenship.

These adjustments in immigration and naturalization fees allow USCIS to more fully recover its operational costs and facilitate the timely processing of new applications, as confirmed by the information published on the site.

Such changes had not been made since 2016, so, in line with what the director of the entity, Ur M. Jaddou, stated:

“For the first time in more than seven years, USCIS updates our fees to better meet the needs of our agency, provide timely decisions to those we serve. Due to years of insufficient funding, USCIS’s workforce made great strides in customer service, reducing delays, implementing new processes and programs, and advocating for equity, integrity, and respect for all we serve.”

The modification of the cost of fees responds to a comprehensive review as a result of a proposed regulation notice from January 2023. The analytical study resulted in the current pricing program being insufficient to recover the full cost of agency operations, including the necessary expansion of humanitarian programs, federally mandated salary increases, additional staffing requirements, and other significant investments.

When will the new fees apply?

The new fees will be applied starting April 1st of this year, affecting around 9 million legal residents eligible according to the data provided by the Office of National Security Statistics.

What are the new immigration costs in the United States?

• The cost to file the Application for Naturalization (N-400) will increase from $640 to $710 if applied online, and $760 if in print format.
• The filing fee for Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status through Form I-485 will increase from $1,140 to $1,440.
• Moreover, the filing fee for Application for Employment Authorization through Form I-765 increases from $410 to $470 with biometric services, and $550 if filed in print format.
• The application for Immigrant Worker through Form I-140 will rise from $700 to $715.
• Additionally, the petition for Temporary Resident Status through Form I-687 (with biometric services) increases from $1,215 to $1,240.
• Meanwhile, the petition to reapply for admission to the United States after deportation through Form I-212 will increase from $930 to $1,175.
• Procedures for the H-1B visa application for Foreign Workers according to Form I-129 will increase from $460 to $780.

Why will the cost of services increase?

The new revenues generated by these USCIS modifications will be invested in implementing new solutions to improve customer experience and halt the excessive growth of case backlogs.

However, according to the official site of the entity, even though this fee increase will allow for a better overall cost balance, Congressional allocations are still needed for sustainable and comprehensive management of the increase in cases related to people crossing the border.

This also implies the necessary hiring of additional USCIS officers for the restructuring of a system not designed to handle the volume of cases that consistently request services.

For more information regarding the modification of the forms that will soon come into effect along with the new fees, you can access this link and consult the new price breakdown as well as the percentage difference from the current fee and the final one, among other provisions of interest.