USCIS announces fee increases
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a final decision to raise the fees for applicants by an average of 21 percent. They have cited the reasons for the increase ranging from fraud detection to case handling to maintain waived fees for certain applicants. The increase took effect on December 23, 2016, and USCIS has announced that it will not accept applications nor petitions after this date unless the additional fee is included. Here are a few highlights of these increases:
- A fee increase of $45, or 8 percent, from $595 to $640 for Form N-400, Application for Naturalization.
- A reduced filing fee of $320 for naturalization applicants with family incomes greater than 150 percent but not more than 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. For 2016, this means, for example, that a household of four with an income between $36,000 and $48,600 per year could pay the reduced fee. Those eligible may apply for this option using the new Form I-942, Request for Reduced Fee.
- A fee increase from $550 or $600 to $1,170 for Form N-600, Application for Certificate of Citizenship, and N-600K, Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate Under Section 322.
- A new fee of $3,035 for Form I-924A, Annual Certification of Regional Center.
When these fees were announced, USCIS provided updated versions of the forms, with the increased fees, on their website. While USCIS encourages applicants to use these new forms, it has announced that it will continue to accept old versions of the forms, through February 21, 2017. All forms postdated on December 23, 2016 or later will need to include the additional fees mentioned, however, regardless if the form itself is the updated version, or they will be rejected.
Form N-400 was the only omission from this list of accepted forms, therefore only the updated Form N-400 from December 23, 2016 will be accepted.
For more information check out the USCIS announcement
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SEVIS By the Numbers
The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) is a web based tool utilized by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Student and Exchange Visitors Program (SEVP) to track data on students and exchange visitors attending SEVP certified schools. Here is a brief overview of their data findings between November 2015 and November 2016:
- Asia saw the largest growth in student population when viewing growth on a continental scale.
- India (+14.1%), China (+5.2%), and Vietnam (+4.5%) saw the highest growth within Asia, while Saudi Arabia (-19.9%), South Korea (-8.3%), and Japan (-2.5%) saw the largest decrease across that span on the continent.
- India additionally showed the largest percentage (83%)of students studying in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields
- California (211,262), New York (138,966), and Texas (88,348) accounted for the largest population of students with China (71,945 in CA, 47,238 in NY) and India (24,532 in TX) representing the highest populations by country of origin.
View the full summary of statistics
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USCIS Policy Alert on Registration of Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) Status
USCIS has announced that it will be issuing a policy guidance in its policy manual regarding lawful permanent resident status. It will consolidate chapters 23.4 and 23.7 of the Adjudicator’s Field Manual and related appendices and USCIS policy memoranda. This guidance supersedes any prior guidance on LPR status. Here are the highlights of the policy:
- Provides guidance on eligibility and evidentiary requirements for presumption of lawful admission and creation of record, registration by children born in the United States to accredited foreign diplomats, and the registry program.
- Provides guidance on presumption of lawful admission following certain errors that occurred at the time of admission.
- Explains relevant codes of admission and effective dates of LPR status for approved applications for registration.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk.