The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a significant fee increase for certain naturalization services, stirring concerns and debate across immigrant communities and advocacy groups.
As aspiring citizens navigate the intricate pathways towards naturalization, these fee adjustments— particularly Form I-907— bring forth new considerations, including possible financial burdens.
But who and what processes will these adjustments affect? Here is a guide to what you should know about USCIS' fee increase.
What is Premium Processing Fee and Why is it Important?
One of USCIS' (an agency that belongs to the Department of Homeland Security) increases is to its premium processing fees, submitted through Form I-907, which offers expedited processing for a variety of the most commonly used form types. This service is particularly important for individuals and businesses seeking faster adjudication of their immigration petitions.
Premium processing fees only affect the adjudication of the USCIS petition and guarantee a response within 15 business days once the application has been received. USCIS responses are returned using regular mail.
Why is USCIS Adjusting Premium Processing Fee Now?
USCIS' premium processing fee increase is mostly credited to inflation adjustment. In other words, the Department of Homeland Security has announced these fees to account for the inflationary period of the last couple of years, particularly June 2021 through June 2023.
Funds generated by the fee increase are slated to be used to provide premium processing services, improve existing adjudications process, reduce processing backlogs and enhance funding for other adjudication and naturalization services.
Details of Fee Adjustment
The USCIS Stabilization Act established the current premium processing fees and the authority for the Department of Homeland Security to adjust the premium fees on a biennial basis. After keeping these fees unchanged for the three years following passage of the Act, the Department of Homeland Security, in efforts to account for inflation adjustment, is now increasing the premium processing fees.
This adjustment increases certain premium processing fees from naturalization services from $1,500 to $1,685, $1,750 to $1,965, and $2,500 to $2,850.
The fee change went into effect on Feb. 26, 2024. After this date, if USCIS receives a Form I-907— the document in which premium processing services are requested— with the incorrect filing fee, they will reject the Form I-907 and return the filing fee. For a filing sent by a commercial courier (such as UPS, FedEx, and DHL), the postmark date is the date reflected on the courier receipt.
Here is the full table of adjusted fees:
You can only request premium processing fees for a benefit if USCIS has announced that premium processing is available for that benefit.
What Will the Revenue From This Adjustment be Used For?
Funds generated by the fee increase in the naturalization services process are slated to be used to provide premium processing services, improve existing adjudications process, reduce processing backlogs and enhance funding for other adjudication and naturalization services.
Bottom Line
With fee increases in these naturalization services, it is important, as an immigrant, to be aware of such new updates and how they may affect your plans and projections to become a citizen in the U.S.
If you are going to submit a Form I-907 to USCIS and the Department of Homeland Security, make sure your filing fees are correct and in accordance with the inflation adjustment announcement.
If you have any questions, you can always contact your lawyer or go directly to the USCIS webpage, as it provides thorough details about the services it provides.
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