September 29, 2005

Immigration Filing Fee Adjustments

In an effort to recoup the full costs of its operations and to reduce its backlog of cases, effective October  26, 2005, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), a fee-based governmental immigration agency, will increase the filing fee by an average of $10.00 for each immigration filing.  For example, the filing fee for an I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, for an applicant 14 years of age or older, will be increased from $315.00 to $325.00. Several fee changes for motions to reopen and appeals went into effect on September 28, 2005.  The costs of the USCIS operations include its provision of no-fee immigration services to asylees and refugees, and its waiver of fees on a case-by-case basis.  Federal guidelines require the USCIS to collect fees, instead of using U.S. tax dollars, to fund the full operating costs of its immigration and naturalization services. Please see attached list of USCIS immigration fee adjustments.

  USCIS Immigration Fee Adjustments (PDF/69 kb, 5 pages)