The Biden administration along with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has proposed a significant hike in immigration fees
H-1B visa allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require certain technical expertise. US tech companies bank heavily on this visa in order to hire techies from India and Chin
The proposed rule has gone under a 60-day public opposition period, following which it is expected to be enforced
- Application fee for H-1B visa to increase from $460 to $780
- Application fee for L-1 visa to increase from $460 to $1,385
- Application fee for O-1 visa to increase from $460 to $1,055
- Application fee for H-2B petitions to increase from $460 to $1,080
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to eliminate biometric services fees in most cases and the number of days to process an application has been increased from 15 days to 15 business days.
USCIS said it would preserve existing fee waiver eligibility for low-income and vulnerable populations. Fee exemptions for certain humanitarian programmes could be considered by USCIS
USCIS receives almost all of its funding from filing fees. USCIS said that the new fees would allow it to fully recover its operating costs, reestablish and maintain timely case processing, and prevent the accumulation of future case backlogs
The USCIS generally publishes a fee rule biennially, and proposes these changes to account for the expansion of humanitarian programmes, federally mandated pay raises, additional staffing requirements, and other essential investments
Produced by: Pranav
Designed by: Pragati