More $$$ for INS

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced today that major fee increases will take effect July 30, 2007. The rule implements most of the fee increases in the proposed rule issued February 1, 2007.

Examples of filing fee increases include:
I-129 petition for nonimmigrant worker (includes H-1Bs, L-1s, Es) fees go from $190 to $320
I-130 relative petition fees increase from $190 to $355
I-140 petition for immigrant worker fees go from $195 to $475
I-485 adjustment of status fees for those filing for adjustment of status to US permanent residence will jump from the current fee of $325 to $1010 per person, with fees of $600 for those under 14 filing with one parent. These fees include the costs of filing for renewals of employment authorization and advance parole travel authorization.
I-90 applications to replace /renew permanent residence card fees go from $190 to $370
N-400 applications for US naturalization (to become a US citizen) fees increase from $330 to $675

In a press release and question and answer notice also issued today, USCIS announced that with the new fees it expects to reduce processing times by 20% by the end of fiscal year 2008, September 30, 2008. It specifically said it intends to reduce processing times for I-90, I-140, I-485s and N-400 cases from 6 to 4 months. Past fee increases have not necessarily resulted in shorter processing times. We hope the USCIS keeps its promise to improve service and actually cut wait times for adjudication with these dramatic increases.