Tag Archives: family immigration

USCIS to Increase Filing Fees

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Get Out Your Checkbooks: USCIS to Increase Filing Fees by An Average of 21%

 

DHS is proposing to increase USCIS filing fees by a weighted average of 21%. USCIS receives congressionally appropriated funds, but they are insufficient to cover the costs of its operations. Most applications that you file with USCIS require a filing fee that must be paid in whole. For example, if you are filing an employment-based petition for an employee, you are subject to a $325 filing fee. An application for citizenship bears a $680 filing fee currently. Premium processing, which is available for select employment-based petitions, is currently $1,225.

DHS is publishing a proposed a rule and is soliciting comments about the proposed adjusted fees. If you are going to be affected by these price increases, you can follow the links to explain why or why not you agree with the proposed changes. As per the rules, DHS is required to consider each comment before it publishes its final rule.

Here are some reasons pulled out of the proposed rule for why DHS needs this increase in filing fees:

USCIS completed a biennial fee review for FY 2016/2017 in 2015. The results indicate that current fee levels are insufficient to recover the full cost of activities funded by the IEFA. USCIS calculates its fees to recover the full cost of USCIS operations, which do not include the limited appropriated funds provided by Congress. USCIS anticipates if it continues to operate at current fee levels, it will experience an average annual shortfall of $560 million between IEFA revenues and costs. This projected shortfall poses a risk of degrading USCIS operations funded by IEFA revenue. The proposed rule would eliminate this risk by ensuring full cost recovery. DHS proposes to adjust fees by a weighted average increase of 21 percent. The weighted average increase is the percentage difference between the current and proposed fees by immigration benefit type.

In addition to ensuring that fees for each specific benefit type are adequate to cover the USCIS costs associated with administering the benefit, the weighted average increase of 21 percent also accounts for USCIS costs for services that are not directly fee funded. For instance, DHS proposes certain changes to how USCIS funds the costs for fee-exempt benefit types through IEFA fee collections received from other fee-paying individuals seeking immigration benefits.6 DHS also proposes to fund the costs of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program (to the extent not recovered from users),7 and the Office of Citizenship8 through the use of fees. The proposed fee schedule also accounts for increased costs to administer refugee processing. Revenues under the proposed rule would accommodate an anticipated increase in the refugee admissions ceiling to 100,000 for FY 2017. This is an increase of 30,000, or 43 percent, over the FY 2015 refugee admissions ceiling.

National Day of Action

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National Day of Action: Immigration Advocates Head to DC

Resources for Immigrants

Friday April 7 is the National Day of Action for immigration. Immigration lawyers, activists, advocates, and immigrants descend upon Washington DC and Capitol Hill to vocalize their concerns with the immigration system. Last year’s Day of Action occurred on May 19, which was the day that President Obama’s Executive Actions – DAPA and new DACA – were supposed to begin. They have not yet taken effect. A federal judge in Texas struck them down for abrogating the Administrative Procedures Act and the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld that decision. The Supreme Court is expected to make its decision in June of this year.

The National Day of Action is not limited to one piece of the immigration system. Advocates will be championing other aspects of immigration reform, such as changing the H-1B cap, increasing entrepreneurial opportunities, and giving migrants fleeing persecution access to counsel and a chance to have their cases heard.

The main motivation of the National Day of Action is to exhort members of Congress to understand facts about immigration, how it benefits the United States, and demonstrate that immigration reform is desired by the country at large. A booklet distributed by the American Immigration Lawyers Association highlights important facts about immigration in the United States.

Immigrants have created businesses and generated business income in their states. California, Texas, Florida, and Ohio are four states in which a combined 1.3 million immigrants started businesses and generated over 58 million dollars in business income. Immigrant-owned small businesses employ 4.7 million people. Legalization of undocumented immigrants would have a significant impact on the tax revenue, to which undocumented migrants contribute to (state and local taxes) already.

The National Day of Action urges reform in all aspects of immigration: humanitarian, family, and business. Immigration reform has been oft-discussed but not enacted. AILA is touting the election year as an impetus to change.

What Is YSC?

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Why Can’t I Check My Case Status: YSC, The Potomac Service Center

Many applications that we are filing have a receipt number that begins with the letter string – YSC. Whenever you file an application with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, you are issued a Receipt Notice with a case-specific receipt number.

If you are trying to track your case number if it begins with YSC, you will encounter an error. Just like with asylum applications, YSC is not available for case status tracking. YSC represents the Potomac Service Center, located in Arlington, Virginia. It was actually opened to process the expected avalanche of DACA and DAPA applications from the president’s executive orders, but as those are tied up in legal battles, the Service Center has been handling some family-based applications. There is no case status tracking feature available and no processing times available.

USCIS Processing Times

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USCIS Processing Times Updated

Check this link for USCIS processing times of applications as of December 31, 2015

Check your receipt letters. The first three letters dictate where your application is. LIN = Nebraska. SRC = Texas. NBC = National Benefits Center. WAC = California. EAC = Vermont.

Of Note

O and P visas at Vermont are taking 2 months instead of 2 weeks. They are taking 2 weeks at California.

Asylum work authorization applications are taking 4 months at Vermont

Most work authorization applications are taking 3 months at Vermont

H-1B extensions and changes of status are taking over 6 months Vermont and California

I-140s at Nebraska are taking 4 months or more.

USCIS Processing Times

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USCIS Processing Times Released

EB-5 pilot program

USCIS has released its most recent processing times for all of the kinds of cases it adjudicates. The data are broken down by the specific Service Center. For example, E-2 visa applications are adjudicated by the California Service Center. The processing time listed is two months. Both the Vermont and California Service Centers adjudicate O and P visa petitions. The California Service Center is adjudicating these petitions in two weeks, which is their stated goal. Vermont Service Center is taking over two months. Of note are that the Vermont Service Center is working on U Visa applications filed in May of 2014. It seems that most Employment Authorization applications are on track to be adjudicated within the regulatory mandated 90 days.

Premium Processing is available for the following kinds of cases. Premium processing requires a $1,225 fee. In exchange, the Service Center will render a decision within 15 days and communicate by email for faster correspondence.