USCIS TO INCREASE FILING FEE IN 2010 AND CONSULAR FILING FEE ALREADY INCREASED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE

USCIS TO INCREASE FILING FEE IN 2010 AND CONSULAR FILING FEE ALREADY INCREASED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law, Dallas
U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have already published notice in the Federal Register to increase the filing fee for most of the benefits sought from USCIS by the general public. The public has the right to comment on the proposed rule to adjust fees for immigration benefit applications and petitions or before July 26, 2010. USCIS announced that they will increase overall fees by a weighted average of about 10 percent but would reduce some fees and maintain the current fee for the naturalization application. The proposed rule resulted from a comprehensive fee review begun in 2009.
The last time USCIS increased its fee was in July 2007 and three years have elapsed without any fee increase. This fee increase is recommended based on the several studies and reports made by the USCIS. The basic reasoning for the increase is that the cost of adjudicating applications and petitions had been increased. But at the same time it has to be remembered that the processing time for many of the applications or petitions remain the same or increased with what was in 2007. The following chart shows the proposed fee increase.

It is also interesting to note that the Dept. of State has already increased the fee for non immigrant visa processing and immigrant processing at its consulates around the world. The non immigrant visa fee had increased from June 04, 2010 and immigrant visa had increased from July 13, 2010. Even if you have remitted the fee it appears that you have to pay the difference in the pay when applying for the visas at the consulates, at least that was the practice in the past. By the increase of the fee by both the USCIS and Dept. of State, the general public is subject to more burdens and at the same time not receiving the benefits they are seeking in a timely manner. The following chart shows the increased fee for all non immigrant and immigrant visas at the U. S Consulates all over the world.
NEW CONSULAR FEES EFFECTIVE JULY 13, 2010
CURRENT FEE NEW FEE
Non-Immigrant Visa Fees* (Already took effect from June 04, 2010)
Nonimmigrant visa application $ 131.00 $ 140.00
1. H, L, O, P, Q, and R categories $ 131.00 $ 150.00
2. E Visas $ 131.00 $ 390.00
3. K Visa $ 131.00 $ 350.00
4. BCC Adult $ 131.00 $ 140.00
Immigrant Visa Fees
IV Application Processing Fee
1. Family-based immigrant visa $ 355.00 $ 330.00
2. Employment-based immigrant visa $ 355.00 $ 720.00
3. Other immigrant visas (SIVs, DVs, etc.) $ 355.00 $ 305.00
IV Security Surcharge $ 45.00 $ 74.00
Diversity Visa Lottery surcharge $ 375.00 $ 440.00
Domestic review of Affidavit of Support $ 70.00 $ 88.00
Determining Returning Resident Status $ 400.00 $ 380.00

The immigration to United States has drastically decreased for the past more than one year from all countries including India. If you look at the priority dates under Family Category for India, most of the categories which use to move only about 10-15 days a month in the past more than 15-25 years are moving about 2-3 months every month. This fast moving trend is due to the fact that either the number of approved petitions or number of applicants for the visa is decreased from all countries including India. As we have mentioned in our article last month, if this trend continues and if you file a petition which will be approved by the USCIS, your brother or sister may come to United States within 4-5 years from now. There will not be any more waiting period like 10-15 years as it used to be in the past more than 15- 25 years. The present increase in the filing fee by the USCIS or by the Dept. of State may not contribute to this slow trend of immigration from other countries to United States. It appears that the job opportunity and the salary what is being received by a person in India for the same job in United States is either more or less the same or better. Moreover, the living expenses in India are far less than what we have in United States. All of these factors may or may not contribute to this low trend of immigration to United States from India.

Disclaimer: Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law does not claim authorship for above referenced information. Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law or the publisher is not responsible or liable for anything stated above, since it is generalized information about the subject matters collected from various sources including Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, State Department, Federal Register, and American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Advocacy Center, and other legal sources. For individual cases and specific questions you are advised to consult an attorney of your choice or contact the agencies mentioned above. You may visit our website at: www.indiaimmigrationusa.com or www.indiaimmigrationusa.blogspot.com for more information about other related immigration matters.