Proposed Rule Change to Result in Extensive Filing Fee Increases for Employment-Based Immigration Benefit Petitions

By: Min Kim

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has officially proposed a rule change to significantly increase the filing fees to a number of immigration benefit petitions. Although increases in both adjustment of status (i.e., “green card”) and naturalization applications were also included in the proposed rule change, the majority of the filing fee increases would affect U.S. employer petitioners according to the proposed rule published in the Federal Register on January 4, 2023.

In particular, the proposed rule change impacts the following immigration benefits, among others, which represent some of the most common and routinely filed petitions by U.S. employers:

• • H-1B petition filing fee to increase from $460 to $780.
• • H-1B cap registration fee to increase from $10 to $215 per registration.
• • L-1 petition filing fee to increase from $460 to $1,385.
• • I-140 petition filing fee to increase from $700 to $715.
• • I-539 application to increase from $370 to $620, if filed with USCIS on paper.
• • Unbundling the filing fees for adjustment of status applications and concurrently filed travel authorization and employment authorization applications to result in the total fee in filing Form I-485, Adjustment of Status Application + Form I-131, Application for Advance Parole + Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization increasing from $1,225 to $2,820, if filed with USCIS on paper.
• • N-400 Naturalization Application filing fee to increase from $640 to $760.

Moreover, the proposed rule seeks to further lengthen the timeframe for premium processing from the customary 15 calendar days to now 15 business days, thereby granting USCIS another week to render a decision for employment-based immigration benefit petitions filed in premium. Additionally, the proposed rule seeks to add a new “Asylum Program Fee” that would apply to all Form I-129 and Form I-140 petitions filed by U.S. employers. This separate fee in the amount of $600 would be a separate fee that all I-129 and I-140 petitioners will be required to pay and would incidentally then be allocated to help fund part of the costs in administering the country’s asylum program.

Importantly, this proposed rule in increasing USCIS filing fees has not yet taken effect. The agency is seeking public comments before a final rule is entered. Until this final rule is published and takes effect, filing fees for H-1B, L-1, adjustment of status and I-140 petitions will continue to remain as they are in accordance with the existing USCIS fee schedule.

For any questions regarding how this new proposed DHS fee schedule might affect you, please contact your trusted Chugh, LLP immigration professional.