2007 USCIS Fee Increase Seems…Insufficient

Most of our clients and readers remember the summer of 2007 when USCIS raised the filing fees for certain services by a substantial amount (in all fairness, USCIS decreased the fees for certain services) (see the archived May 29, 2007 USCIS press release).  One of the motivating forces behind this fee increase was the collection of an additional funds which would lead to a 20 percent reduction in average application processing times for I-90, I-140, I-485 and N-400 petitions.

The jury is still out on whether there is a notable and sustainable decrease in processing times for petitions filed with USCIS.  However, in an article from today Business Week reports that the government has collected much less (hundreds of millions of dollars) than originally anticipated when the new USCIS fees went into effect.

The 2007 USCIS fee increase had a collection target of an additional $1 billion.  However, the agency is now expecting that it would collect about $282 million short of the $2.33 billion target for the fiscal year ending on September 30, 2009.

According to Director Majorkas, “

[g]iven the current economic climate, we anticipate that the current filing trend will continue. We will therefore continue to make the necessary adjustments while remaining dedicated to delivering on our public service mission.”  As a result, the agency costs are expected to far exceed its revenue and will have to seek ways to bridge its budget shortfall.  There are requests for money from Congress and it is possible that there may be some fee adjustments, although no official information has been made available.

By | Last Updated: May 20th, 2017| Categories: News|

About the Author: Dimo Michailov

Dimo Michailov
Dimo has over 15 years of experience in US immigration including employment-based immigration benefits, corporate compliance and family based immigration. He represents corporate and individual clients in a wide range of cross-border immigration matters including mobility of key foreign executives and managers, specialized knowledge workers, and foreign nationals with extraordinary ability.

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The Capitol Immigration Law Group has been serving the business community for over 15 years and is one of the most widely respected immigration law firms focused solely on U.S. employment-based immigration.   Disclaimer:  we make all efforts to provide timely and accurate information; however, the information in this article may become outdated or may not be applicable to a specific set of facts.  It is not to be construed as legal advice.