On June 9, 2010, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) published a statement that it would be seeking public comment on a proposed rule to adjust filing fees.  The proposed rule will be published in the Federal Register on June 11, 2010.  USCIS will accept comments on the rule until July 26, 2010.  Comments may be submitted via www.regulations.gov.  The proposed fee increase will not go into effect until after USCIS reviews the submitted comments, and publishes the final rule in the Federal Register.
Under the USCIS proposal, fees for most applications would increase approximately 10 percent, but no increase is planned for naturalization fees.  Fees on a limited number of applications (including the I-539 and I-129F for Fiances) would decrease.  USCIS has also prepared a Proposed Fee Rule Question and Answer document, which discusses why certain fees were adjusted, and how the fee changes will be implemented.

The proposal also includes a recommendation to adjust the premium processing fee based on changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).  The fee for premium processing service has been unchanged since 2001, when the premium processing service was created.  Based on the current CPI, and changes due to inflation since 2001, the proposed rule indicates that if adjusted for CPI as of 2009, the premium processing fee would increase from $1,000 to $1,225.  The premium processing fee would then be subject to annual adjustment.  Under premium processing, the USCIS will issue a decision on a petition within 15 days of receipt.

At this time, it is unclear when the USCIS fees will change.  Jackson & Hertogs continues to track the status of the proposed fee increase, and will notify clients as more information becomes available.

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