Starting October 2, the new USCIS fee schedule will take effect. From the start, this across-the-board fee hike can be viewed as part of an anti-immigrant policy, which makes it difficult to avoid calling it “political.”
Among these fee increases, the most striking change at first glance is the hike in the naturalization (citizenship) application fee, which rose from $725 to $1,200—a steep increase of $475. It is evident that this is meant to make citizenship applications more difficult. In other words, they are not too keen on seeing immigrants become citizens and therefore gain voting rights. It can be interpreted as an attempt to reduce the number of first-generation immigrant voters.
Another point is that the cost of applying for a green card (permanent residency) has effectively increased in a less noticeable way. Although the I-485 application fee was reduced from $1,140 to $1,130—making it appear as though the green card application fee has gone down—this is, in fact, misleading.
USCIS has “deceptively” increased the overall cost of a green card by now requiring separate fees for the Employment Authorization Document ($550) and Advance Parole ($590), which previously required no extra payment. Considering that most green card applicants typically file for both work authorization and travel authorization, the total cost of applying for a green card has risen by $1,015. (USCIS did lower the biometrics fee by $55.) They are creating an illusion by reducing the green card application fee by $10 while simultaneously hiking other costs. The same applies to green card applications through employment-based petitions.
Moreover, when multiple family members apply for work authorization and travel authorization, the expense will increase dramatically. And if the green card application is pending for a long time, additional fees will be incurred when renewing these authorizations. Overall, these costs have risen more than one might initially realize.
Also noteworthy is that while the work permit fee for DACA recipients remains at $410, fees for all other applicants have been raised to $550. This appears to be a kind of “compensation” for reducing the validity period of DACA from two years to one year. In other words, by halving the DACA validity period, the costs effectively doubled, so it seems they felt it was too much to also raise the DACA work permit fee.
Additionally, fees for H-1B visas ($555), L visas for intracompany transferees ($805), and O visas for individuals with extraordinary ability ($705) will increase (which can be interpreted as an effort to make it harder for immigrants to work in the U.S.). The fee for a change of status, which was $370, is also set to increase to $400.
Meanwhile, there are a few fees that are being lowered. The green card renewal fee will go down from $540 to $445, and the biometrics fee will drop from $85 to $30. The fee for an employer petition (I-140) will also decrease, from $700 to $555. Additionally, for certain applications that can be filed online, applicants will have the option to file electronically and save $10.