The comment period on the Department of Homeland Security’s proposal to raise U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services fees will come to a close Monday, March 13.

Key Points:

  • In January, USCIS announced a proposal to raise fees for immigration benefit requests by a weighted average of 40 percent — and more for most high-skilled classifications.
  • In addition, the proposal calls for a new Asylum Program Fee surcharge of $600 on key employment-based filings to pay for humanitarian programs.
  • DHS will accept comments through March 13, 2023. The previous deadline was March 6 but was extended because of a technical issue with the government’s rulemaking web portal.
  • Companies can gauge the impact of the proposed increases by using the BAL USCIS Fee Calculator here.

BAL Analysis: The proposed fee increases would impose significant costs on employers; however, the agency may make changes to its proposal and must review the comments it receives before formulating a final rule. Higher fees will not be finalized or take effect for at least several months. For more information on the Biden administration’s regulatory priorities, find BAL’s white paper on the 2023 U.S. immigration outlook here.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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