The new fees offered by Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for guest workers wishing to work in the US and for those wishing to apply for a green card within the country have more than doubled for some categories.
In the price draft prepared by the USCIS, which is affiliated to the Department of Homeland Security, increases of up to 130 percent for the application processing fees of some categories, such as green cards, and more than 40 percent on average.
USCIS Director Ur Jaddou stated that the price update, which is known to be worked on for a long time, will allow “improving customer service operations and managing the incoming workload.”
If the proposal is approved, those wishing to apply for green card status from a temporary visa within the United States will have to pay approximately $3,500 instead of the current fee of $1,760, and the processing costs of bringing a spouse and two children to the United States for an immigrant family of four could exceed $10,000.
The application fee for the H-1-B professional visa, which gives the right to temporary legal work in the USA, is from 460 to 780 dollars in the new period, the intra-company transfer visa from L-1 460 to 1385 dollars, and the gifted visa O-1 from 460. It will rise to $1055.
MAY BE EFFECTED IN MAY
A specific process mandated by the Administrative Procedures Act must be followed for the new price bill submitted by USCIS to take effect.
While the law stipulates a 60-day period to receive reactions after the proposal is published, the proposal can be changed or withdrawn following this process.
If there are no changes or cancellations, the new prices are expected to take effect from May.
Although USCIS is an official institution, which has not increased its application fees since 2016, it covers approximately 96 percent of its budget from the said filing fees. (AA)