New USCIS Forms, Fees, and Procedures in Effect as of October 2, 2020

The new fees are effective as of October 2, 2020 and apply to all applications and petitions postmarked on or after that date. Applications or petitions postmarked before October 2, 2020 will be adjudicated based on the previous fees in effect at the time of filing.

Some of the more important and noteworthy fee changes include:

1. Adjustment of Status Applicants: Children under the age of 14 filing for adjustment of status with their parent will no longer be eligible to file Form I-485 with a reduced fee. A standard Form I-485 fee of $1,130 will apply to all applicants. Adjustment applicants will also be required to pay separate fees for Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization ($550) and Form I-131, Application for Travel Document ($590) filed in connection with applications for adjustment of status, thus more than doubling the total cost of filing an adjustment of status application package to $2,270;
2. Asylum Applicants: For the first time, the rule establishes a $50 filing fee for asylum applications filed on Form I-589 while providing a $50 reduction in the fee for Form I-485 adjustment of status applications filed in the future for principal applicants who pay the $50 fee for Form I-589 and are subsequently granted asylum;
3. Naturalization Applicants: The standard fee for Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, increases by 83%, from $640 to $1,170 for paper filings;
4. 50-50 Rule: The $4,000 fee for H-1B petitions and $4,500 for L-1 petitions when the petitioner employs more than 50 workers in the United States and that workforce is comprised of more than 50 percent H-1B or L-1 workers (the “50-50 rule”) will now also apply to H-1B and L-1 extension petitions, in addition to initial petitions. It will not apply to amended petitions that are not seeking an associated extension request; and
5. Biometrics Fee: With some exceptions, USCIS has eliminated the separate biometrics service fee of $85 for many application types in the final rule and instead has established a filing fee for most forms that incorporates the cost of biometric services that were typically associated with that form.⁶ For example, the biometrics fee will now be included as part of the base adjustment of status filing fee for Form I-485.

New Forms in Effect as of October 2, 2020

USCIS has indicated that, for petitions and applications postmarked on or after October 2, 2020, it will only accept the 10/02/20 version of the following new or existing forms:

1. Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker: H-1B or H-1B1 Classifications (Form I-129H1)
2. Petitions for H-2A and H-2B Workers (Forms I-129H2A and I-129H2B)
3. Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker: L Classification (Form I-129L)
4. Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker: O Classification (Form I-129O)
5. Application for Nonimmigrant Worker: E and TN Classification (Form I-129E&TN)
6. Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker: H-3, P, Q, or R Classification (Form I-129MISC)
7. Request for Action on Approved Form I-600/I-600A (Form I-600/I-600A, Supplement 3)
8. Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765)
9. Request for Fee Waiver (Form I-912)

Significant Change to Premium Processing Time Frame

Although the rule did not change the $1,440 fee for premium processing, it did change the premium processing time frame from 15 calendar days to 15 business days. For purposes of calculating the 15-day premium processing clock, USCIS considers business days as those days on which the federal government is open for business. Business days do not include weekends, federally observed holidays, or the days on which federal government offices are closed (including, but not limited to, closures due to inclement weather or national emergencies).

Important Changes to Nonimmigrant Worker Petitions

USCIS has replaced the Form I-129 with an array of visa category-specific forms. As of October 2, 2020, the Form I-129 will be separated into the following forms:

1. Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker: H-1B or H-1B1 Classifications (Form I-129H1) – Fee $555
2. Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker: H-2A Classification (Form I-129H2A) – Fee $850/$415 (named/unnamed beneficiaries)
3. Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker: H-2B Classification – Fee $715/$385 (named/unnamed beneficiaries)
4. Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker: L Classification (Form I-129L) – Fee $805
5. Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker: O Classification (Form I-129O) – Fee $705
6. Application for Nonimmigrant Worker: E and TN Classification (Form I-129E&TN) – Fee $695
7. Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker: H-3, P, Q, or R Classification (Form I-129MISC) – Fee $695
8. Petition for a CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker (Form I-129CW) – Fee $695

USCIS is also limiting the number of named beneficiaries that may be included on a single petition for H-2A, H-2B, H-3, O-2 P, Q, E, and TN workers to a maximum of 25 beneficiaries.

<Source: AILA (American Immigration Lawyers Association>