The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a statement last Tuesday, January 30, announcing the application of the increase in fees in some of its immigration procedures to process in a “more timely” manner from next April 1st.
According to the statement, the agency clarifies that, after a review, it concluded that the current rates are very far from recovering the full cost of its operations, among which it listed the expansion of humanitarian programs, the hiring of new personnel and mandatory increases. of salaries.
Now the new costs are as follows:
- Permanent residency application from $1,225 to $1,440.
- Paper work permit application from $495 to $520.
Instead, If this last procedure is carried out online, it will have a reduction from $495 to $470.
Other procedures that undergo changes in their costs are:
- The naturalization application that goes from $640 to $710 if submitted onlinemeanwhile, if it is done In physical form, the cost increases to $760..
Lawyer Rosaly Chaviano explained to the television station América TeVé Miami that regarding permanent residence at this time “a fee is paid, which already includes the work permit and the travel permit.”
He argued that “under this new rule, you actually now have to pay the residency fee, apart from the work permit and travel permit fees. So we are talking about If all three things are requested at the same time, we are talking about more than 2,000 dollars”.
This new measure represents the first adjustment that has been applied since 2016 and comes as a necessity “to better meet the needs of our agency, allowing us to provide more timely decisions to those we serve,” USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou explained to the agency EFE.
Importantly, some applicants will be able to waive fee waivers and discounts, such as low-income victims of human trafficking and domestic violence, and U.S. military service members, as well as a $50 discount for those filing returns online. and expands eligibility for reduced naturalization fees to low-income applicants.
As a preview, USCIS had reported at the end of last year about the increase in fees for various immigration procedures as a measure of adjustment to current inflation.
