Possible Increase in Fees for Green Card and Citizenship Applications

On November 14, 2019 the government published proposed fee increases for green card applications and for citizenship applications. Thirty years ago, USCIS, which used to be INS (Immigration & Naturalization Services) began its transition to fee-based funding after Congress allowed for fee revenues without congressional approval.
USCIS has been underfunded by over one billion dollars and hasincreased its fees over several decades.  The biggest increase occurred in 1998, when the cost of a green card went from $195 to $330, and the cost of obtaining citizenship increased from $90 to $225.00.
The last increase in fees occurred in 2016. The current green card application fee is $1,760 and the current cost of a naturalization application is $725.00. Under the proposed rule,the cost for a naturalization application would increase from $725.00 to $1,170.00.
The cost for a green card from within the United States would increase as follows:
Form I-130, currently $535, would increase to $555
Form I-485 would decrease from the current fee of $1,225to $1,205
Form I-765 would cost $490, whereas currently it is 0
Form I-131 would cost $585 whereas currently it is 0
The rule is open for a thirty-day public comment period, until mid-December 2019.
For more information, please contact our office for a free telephone consultation (15 minute) at 248-557-3645.
Sevahn Merian
Associate Attorney, Immigration Law Department
The Law Offices of Joumana Kayrouz, PLLC

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