2024 Final Fee Rule
USCIS National Engagement
Feb. 22, 2024
Reminders
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Summary and Background
Summary
• Final fee rule was published Jan. 31, 2024.
• The new fees will be effective April 1, 2024.
• All form fees will be removed from form instructions. See: G-1055, Fee Schedule: [Link]/g-
1055, to determine the applicable fees.
• The online Fee Calculator will be updated on April 1, 2024. See: [Link]/feecalculator
Background
• Comprehensive fee review concluded need to raise additional revenue from fee-payers.
• The rule allows USCIS to recover operational costs more fully.
• USCIS considered over 5,400 unique comments following the Jan. 4, 2023, proposed rule.
• Last fee schedule increase occurred in 2016.
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USCIS Funding
Final Rule
Appropriations
4%
Generates an additional $1.14 billion per
year to support current and projected
workloads and avoid backlog accumulation.
• Increase personnel
• Contract costs
• Customer service & communications
• Officer training
• FOIA responses
Filing Fees • Lockbox activity
96%
• Asylum and refugee support
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Core Elements
• For individual filers, the final rule generally limits newly established fees to no more than
the increase in the Consumer Price Index since December 2016, which was approximately
26%.
o Many fees increase by well under 26%.
• Fee increases are held to a low level for naturalization and adoption filings.
• Maintains existing fee waiver eligibility and expands fee exemptions for certain
humanitarian and other beneficiaries.
• Reduces filing fees for online filings.
• Removes the separate biometric services fee (except for certain TPS and EOIR forms).
• Revises the premium processing timeframe from calendar days to business days.
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Forms and Grace Periods
• We will accept prior editions of most forms during a grace period from April 1 through June 3
filed with the correct fee.
• We will use the postmark date of a filing to determine which form version and fees are correct,
but will use the received date for purposes of any regulatory or statutory filing deadlines, and for
when the premium processing clock starts.
• There is no grace period for fees. All forms must include the new fee on April 1.
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Forms and Grace Periods (cont.)
• There will be no grace period for the following form editions:
o Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker;
o Form I-129CW, Petition for a CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker;
o Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers;
o Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition
(and supplement 1, 2 and 3); and
o Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative (and supplement 1, 2 and 3).
Note: We will publish an OMB-approved preview version of the 04/01/24 version of the form on each
form’s landing page as soon as possible before April 1, 2024. Until then, we have posted links to
[Link] on these landing pages for a redline version of our anticipated changes.
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Payments
• USCIS will not redeposit payments returned as unpayable for a reason other than
insufficient funds.
o Required by Treasury Department.
• Fees paid to USCIS using a credit card are not subject to dispute, chargeback, forced refund,
or return to the cardholder for any reason except at the discretion of USCIS.
o Recent trend of increasing disputes when processing is delayed or the applicant
disagreed with decision.
• Eliminates the $30 returned check fee.
Fee Exemptions
• Codifies existing fee exemptions and provides new fee exemptions for:
o Certain humanitarian categories of benefit requestors through adjustment of status (e.g.,
T and U nonimmigrants, VAWA self-petitioners, SIJs);
o Adoption-related fees for second approval extensions, second changes in country,
duplicate approval notices, and certificates of citizenship and naturalization; and
o U.S. military servicemembers and our Afghan allies.
• IMPORTANT: The Form I-912 fee waiver request is not necessary when there is a fee exemption.
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Fee Waivers
• Maintains and codifies existing fee waiver eligibility criteria:
o Receipt of means-tested benefits
o Income at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines
o Extreme financial hardship
• Use Form I-912 or submit a written request for fee waiver along with documentation of
eligibility.
• IMPORTANT: Do not submit a fee when requesting a fee waiver. If you submit a fee, USCIS will
intake the fee and not consider the fee waiver request.
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Online Filing
In most cases, there will be a $50 discount for forms filed online.
Exception: There is no online filing discount when the form fee is already provided at a substantial discount or USCIS is prohibited by
law from recovering its costs, including the following forms:
• Form 1-821, Temporary Protected Status
• Form I-131, Refugee Travel Document (for a reentry permit or refugee travel document)
• Form I-192, Application for Advance Permission to Enter as a Nonimmigrant, when submitted to CBP
• Form I-193 Application for Waiver of Passport and/or Visa, when submitted to CBP
• Form I-212, Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the United States After Deportation or Removal, when
submitted to CBP
• Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, for applicants who filed Form I-485 with a fee after 4/1/2024 and
their I-485 is still pending
• Form I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
• Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service
• Form N-400, Naturalization Application, when filed with a reduced fee
• Registration requirement for petitioners seeking to file H-1B petitions on behalf of cap-subject aliens
• Asylum Program Fee or other ancillary fees for Forms I-129 or I-129CW
• Forms I-129, 129CW, and I-140 for small employers and nonprofits.
IMPORTANT: New forms will be available online on April 1, 2024. You will not be able to submit older versions of forms online
after April 1. On April 1, any Form N-400 drafts in progress will be deleted and you must restart the application. A reminder
will be sent to all online account holders ahead of time so you will be aware. This only applies to the N-400.
Biometrics
• No separate biometric services fee.
• USCIS biometric services costs are spread among requests which require biometric services –
storage and maintenance of biometric information, obtaining background checks, operating
the application support centers, identity verification, and creating secure documents.
• A separate biometric services fee of $30 will still be required for Form I-821, and EOIR Forms
EOIR-40, EOIR 42A, and EOIR 42B, however.
Form I-485
• Form I-485 fee = $1,440.
• Reduced fee for children under age 14 will remain less than full fee for adults when filing
Form I-485 with their parent = $950.
Exemptions
• Victims of severe form of trafficking • Afghan and Iraqi Special Immigrant Visas
(T nonimmigrants) • Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJs)
• Victims of qualifying criminal activity • Refugees
(U nonimmigrants) • Current and former U.S. armed forces service
• VAWA Form I-360 self-petitioners and members, including persons who served
derivatives honorably on active duty in the U.S. armed
• Abused spouses and children adjusting forces filing under INA sec. 101(a)(27)(K)
status under CAA and HRIFA
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Form I-485 (cont.)
• With the new rule, the fees for Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and Form
I-131, Application for Travel Document, will not be bundled or fee exempt when filing for
adjustment (I-485).
• Form I-765 = $260 if filed in connection with a Form I-485 that was filed with fee after the fee rule
goes into effect (April 1, 2024).
o However, in general, if you filed a Form I-485 before April 1, 2024, and paid the fee, then
you do not need to pay for Form I-765 or I-131 renewals while that Form I-485 is pending.
• Form I-131 = $630. No fee exemption for an I-131 filed in connection with an I-485 that was filed
after April 1.
• Form I-130 = $625 (online); $675 (paper).
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Adoptions Fees
• Revises certain USCIS processes for adoptions from countries that are not party to the Hague
Adoption Convention (orphan cases).
• Form I-600
o $920 fee applies if more than one Form I-600 is filed based on an approved and valid
Form I-600A before the proposed adoption (no additional fee for children who are birth
siblings); or
o $920 fee applies for Form I-600 combination filing change in marital status after suitability
approval (no fee applies while it is pending).
Adoptions Fees (cont.) - Exemptions
• Form I-600A
o $920 fee applies if change in marital status after Form I-600A is approved (no fee applies
while it is pending)
• Form I-600A/I-600 & I-800A Supplement 3:
o $455 applies for third extension of approval and subsequent filings or significant change
and updated home study with no request for first or second extension or change of
country.
Exemptions
First and second extensions;
First and second changes in country;
A duplicate approval notice request; and
Certificates of citizenship (Form N-600 and N-600K) regardless of age.
Form N-400
• Form N-400: $760 (paper filing), $710 (online filing), or $380 (reduced fee).
• Fee waiver eligibility remains the same, including for household income less than 150% of
Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG).
• Reduced fee ($380) if household income is up to 400% of FPG.
o Previous regulations provided this for applicants between 150 to 200% of FPG.
• All N-400 applicants must submit biometrics. There is no longer a separate biometric services fee.
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Form N-400 (cont.)
Fee changes for Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, including biometric services:
Type of Filing Previous Fee Final Rule Fee $ Change % Change
Paper filing, no reduced fee $725 $760 +$35 +5%
Online filing, no reduced fee $725 $710 -$15 -2%
Reduced fee for applicants with $405 $380 -$25 -6%
household income between 150-200%
of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG)
Reduced fee for applicants with $725 $380 -$345 -48%
household income between 200-400%
of the FPG
Form N-400 Reduced Fee
• Reduced Fee for incomes up to 400% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG): $380
o New Form N-400 includes the reduced fee request in Part 10. Form I-942 will be
discontinued.
o Must file a paper N-400 with all required documentation. The reduced fee option is not yet
available online.
o During the grace period, you may request a reduced fee using the previous Form N-400
version but must submit Form I-942.
o IMPORTANT – if an applicant submits a reduced fee ($380) and a request for a fee waiver
(Form I-912 or written request), USCIS will deposit the fee and not review the fee waiver
request. We may reject reduced fee requests that do not have Part 10 filled out.
o The FPG can be found at the HHS website.
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TPS and DACA
• Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
o Form I-821 = $50 (no change)
o Biometrics = $30 (lower fee)
o Form I-765 = $520 (paper filing; may submit fee waiver request), $470 (online filing)
• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
o Form I-821D= $85 (no change)
o Form I-765 = $520 (paper), $470 (online)
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Employment-Based Petitions
• Asylum Program Fee - $600 Asylum Program Fee for petitioners filing:
o Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker;
o Form I-129CW, Petition for a CMNI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker; or
o Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers.
• Reduced Fee: $300 for small employers with 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees.
• Exemption: $0 for nonprofits.
Potential documentation to support eligibility for reduced fee or exemption:
Small Employer Status Nonprofit Status
• Submit page 1 of most recent IRS Form 941, • Submit a Determination Letter from the IRS;
Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return. or
• a copy of a currently valid IRS tax
exemption certificate. 21
Employment-Based Petitions:
Form I-129 & I-129 CW
• Establishes separate fees for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, by
nonimmigrant classification.
• Up to 50% discounted fee for Form I-129 for nonprofits and small employers (25 or fewer
full-time equivalent employees).
• Limits the number of named beneficiaries on H-2A and H-2B petitions for nonimmigrant
workers to 25, among others.
• Effectively applies to all Form I-129 petitions that allow multiple named beneficiaries, such as H-3, O-2, P-1, P-2, P-3,
P-1S, P-2S, P-3S, and Q-1 classifications. Does not apply to Form I-129CW.
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H-1B registration fee
H-1B
• New $215 H-1B registration fee based on the results of the FY 2022/2023 fee review.
• The H-1B registration fee during the March 2024 registration period will remain $10.
• New $215 fee to be applied during the March 2025 registration period.
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H-1B Registration Rule
Published: Feb. 2, 2024. Effective: March 4, 2024.
• Beneficiary-centric process: registrations by unique beneficiary
• Starting with the March 2024 initial registration period (for FY 2025), will require valid passport or
travel document for each beneficiary
• Codifies USCIS ability to deny or revoke H-1B petitions where the underlying registration
contained a false attestation or was otherwise invalid
• Temporary increase in daily credit card transaction limit to $99,999.
Premium Processing
• Effective February 26, 2024, under authority in the Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act of
2020, and independent of the 2024 Final Fee Rule, DHS increased premium processing fees to
reflect the increase in the Consumer Price Index from June 2021 through June 2023. (88 FR 89539,
Dec. 28, 2023.)
• The inflationary adjustment increases premium processing fees from $1,500 to $1,685, $1,750 to
$1,965, and $2,500 to $2,805.
• The 2024 Final Fee Rule revised the premium processing timeframe from calendar days to
business days.
• [Link]/newsroom/alerts/uscis-announces-inflation-adjustment-to-premium-processing-fees
Resources
• Final Fee Rule – Final rule text (Federal Register) and full regulatory docket ([Link])
• Fee Rule FAQ (includes fee table) - [Link]/frequently-asked-questions-on-the-uscis-fee-rule
• Form G-1055, Fee Schedule - All new edition forms and fees will be found here on April 1, 2024 - [Link]/g-1055
• Premium Processing - [Link]/newsroom/alerts/uscis-announces-inflation-adjustment-to-premium-processing-fees
• H1-B Registration Final Rule - [Link]/newsroom/news-releases/uscis-announces-strengthened-integrity-measures-
for-h-1b-program
• Federal Poverty Guidelines from Department of Health and Human Services - https//[Link]/topics/poverty-
economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines
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Fee Rule - Frequently Asked Questions
Questions
• Please ask your question in the Q&A box.
• We cannot address case-specific questions.
Concluding Remarks
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