USCIS Issues Final Rule to Adjust Certain Immigration and Naturalization Fees

Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule to adjust certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees for the first time since 2016. The final rule will allow USCIS to recover a greater share of its operating costs and support more timely processing of new applications.

The new fees under the final rule will go into effect on April 1, 2024.

USCIS has published a list of Frequently Asked Questions to summarize all of the changes. The FAQ’s can be found at this link:
https://www.uscis.gov/frequently-asked-questions-on-the-uscis-fee-rule

Here is a quick breakdown of the changes that will most directly impact our filings at Duke:

1. The H-1B filing fee will increase to $780 (from $460). As far as we know, the $500 Fraud Prevention fee will not be changing at this time.
2. The O-1 filing fees will increase to $1055 (from $460).
3. The TN filing fee will increase to $1015 (from $460), though please note that this only impacts the fees for filing for an extension within the U.S., and that the fees for requesting the TN via travel should remain unchanged.
4. The fees for I-539 dependent applications will increase to either $420 or $470, depending on whether the dependent(s) file their applications online or via the traditional paper route (from $370).
5. The filing fee for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), including those for students applying for OPT, as well as for DACA recipients, J-2 and H-4 visa holders and green card applicants will increase to $555 for online filings and $650 for paper filings. The previous filing fee was $410.