By: Carmen Lopez
On October 24, 2016, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a final rule in the Federal Register, adjusting the fees required for most immigration applications and petitions. These new fees will take effect on December 23, 2016. Any applications received by the USCIS with a wrong fee on or after December 23, 2016, will be rejected.
This is a first fee increase since November, 2010 which will serve to recover the full cost of services provided by the USCIS. These costs are associated with fraud detection and national security, customer service and case processing, and providing services without charge to refugee and asylum applicants and other customers eligible for fee waivers or exemptions.
New USCIS filings fees for key employment-based petitions and applications are as follows:
|
Form |
Current Fee |
Final Fee |
% Change |
| Form I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker |
$325 |
$460 |
42% |
| Form I-140 Petition For Alien Worker |
$580 |
$700 |
21% |
| Form 1-485 Application to Adjust Status
|
$985* |
$1,140* |
16% |
| Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization |
$380 |
$410 |
8% |
| Form I-131 Application for Travel Document |
$360 |
$575 |
60% |
| Form I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status |
$290 |
$370 |
28% |
| Form I-526 Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur |
$1,500 |
$3,675 |
145% |
| I-924 Application for Regional Center Designation under the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program |
$6,230 |
$17,795 |
186% |
| I-924 Annual Certification of EB-5 Regional Center |
$0 |
$3,035 |
N/A |
| Form I-90 Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card |
$365 |
$455 |
25% |
| Biometrics Fee |
$85 |
$85 |
0% |
Therefore, if you have been thinking of filing for Naturalization, filing for a family-based relative petition, employment-based petition or any type of immigration filing, now is the time.
For more information on the forms that will be affected by the fee increase, please visit: https://www.uscis.gov/forms/our-fees.
© 2025 Chugh LLP Affiliate Network. All Rights Reserved
