News Update - May 30, 2007
By Alan Lee, Esq.†‡
Immigration Fees to Rise Effective July 30, 2007
The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) of the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published its final rule amending
8 CFR Part 103 and raising immigration fees (see 72 Federal Register
28951). The fees are to fund the cost of processing applications
and petitions. The new fees are in effect for applications and petitions
filed, mailed or postmarked on or after July 30, 2007. The below
fees are quoted without the $80 biometrics fee which is added on
to most applications. They include an increase to $930 for I-485
applications to adjust status to permanent resident ($600 for children
under fourteen filing concurrently with a parent). I-130 relative
petitions will increase from $190 to $355. Naturalization fees rise
from $330 to $595. USCIS anticipates increased workload in preparing
for immigration reform and many applicants. USCIS also states it
is seeking to reduce processing times. The USCIS is also seeking
to improve business immigration services. Fees for I-40 petitions
will rise from $195 to $475. Applications for alien entrepreneurs
will rise from $480 to $1,435 and the fee to remove the conditional
basis of residence for a business immigrant will go from $475 to
$2,850, making a complete process for an entrepreneur cost at least
$4,255.
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