February 5, 2004

CIS Filings Fees to Increase

As published in the Federal Register on February 3, 2004, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“CIS”) proposes to increase the fees for immigration benefit applications and petitions, as well as the fees for capturing biometric information of applicants/petitioners who apply for certain immigration benefit applications and petitions. The proposed rule is seeking to increase filing fees by approximately $55 per application and the biometric fee by $20 per person. The new fees will help to support other program enhancements and new activities and increase security.

Written comments on the proposed fee scheduled must be submitted before March 4, 2004 to the Director, Regulations and Forms Services Division, Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, 425 I Street, NW, Room 4034, Washington, DC 20536.

The chart below outlines the current fee, the proposed fee and the difference.