ATTENTION the adjustment of status fees are supposedly going up from $325 to $905 biometric fees from 70$ to80$ at least by june mid june maybe may..... I have found this out on USCIS website buried in press releases....... i will give you the link to the uscis roundtable discussion about this...
http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments...rnd_31jan07.pdf

this link will give you the intentons of USCIS fee restructuring proposal.... here is their plan
feb 1 2007 to april 1 discussion and entry into the federal registrar.... april 1 to june 1 ironing our implimentation of new fees.. after that enforcement of new fees..... now they have given no set time to start charging these higher fees nor any rock solid facts as to which fees will be raised all i know now is what fees listed below is what they want to raise.. its getting close to the target date of june and they have yet to release any final dates or facts as to which petitoins will be effected exactly but i do beleive u should know what could be coming down the line just in case it effects you...
here are more links to the fee restructuring fee proposal
http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/QABuilding1.pdf <--- this will give you the details to what petitions and how much the increase to back what i'm saying up......... all this information is super buried in the website and you have to dig into the documents to get the facts.. took me 45 min to figure out what they don't want you to know it seems....

Form
Petition Type
Current Fee Proposed Fee

I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker
$ 190 to $ 320
I-130 Petition for Alien Relative
$ 190 to $ 355

I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
$ 325 to $ 905

I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker
$ 195 to $ 475

N-400 Application for Naturalization
$ 330 $ 595

this is a 66% increase in fees OUCH
good luck to you all and i hope they don't raise the fees too soon..i'm already scrambling to get my petiton filed before its too late

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=60182

What is the Total fees right now with everything combined like Adjustment of Status, EAD Travel doc which will all included in the new fee structure

[quote name='KHURRAM SERAJ' date='Apr 13 2007, 10:47 AM' post='836287']
What is the Total fees right now with everything combined like Adjustment of Status, EAD Travel doc which will all included in the new fee structure
[/quote

the total fees is about 500 with AOS biometrics and EAD not even close to the 905 they propose... even though EAD and all interim benifits will be free the $905 fee is way too high to consider it a value.........

Supposedly, fees for I-751 are not going up. Or are they?

The projected filing fees for selected forms are as follows (current filing fees are in parentheses):

• I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker: $320 ($190)
• I-130, Petition for an Alien Relative: $355 ($190)
• I-131, Application for Travel Document: $305 ($170)
• I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker: $475 ($195)
• I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status: $905 ($325) if 14 years or older; $805 ($325) if under 14 years.
• Fingerprint/Biometric Fee: $80 ($70)
• I-539, Application to Change or Extend Nonimmigrant Status: $300 ($200)
• I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions of Residence: $465 ($205)
• I-765, Application for Employment Authorization: $340 ($180)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unfortunately we don't have an option here or do we?

Man, glad I filed all my crap already. Thats gonna hurt a lot if the prices go up that much. I spent around $1200 for AOS and EAD, I cant imagine spending anymore! Hehe

*sigh*

At least we have an option not to file for citizenship.

Yeah, but I'd rather apply for citizenship once I can just to be on the safe side.

Absolutely! Why would you want to deal with USCIS longer than you have to!??!

I thought the fee for I-485 of $905 already included the fees for I-765, biometrics, and AP.

Yeah, but you still have to lift conditions....that's going up too. Citizenship too, which is a few years down the road. It's going up too.


It does. The I-751 is for lifting conditions on the conditional 2 year green card. That's not included with the AOS "standard package".

ok, then it is not going up all that much....

OMG!!!! Those numbers are outrageuos!!!!! I am filing this week and glad that I do that!!!!

My husband being here with me is priceless...

Exactly, Having Annie here is worth everything.

Besides, the increase in fees should in theory reduce the causal fraud cases. Which in turn should make it easier for the real cases to get through.

The serious fraud rings will continue unabated by this.

In hindsight, I think I would rather pay the increased fees, to have less hassle in filing EAD and AP it would be worth it.

The increase has nothing to do with fraud... these people pay thousands and thousands of dollars to USCs to marry them, do you think that a 100 bucks increase will stop them ? No. The increase has to do with the price it actually costs to process all the paperwork and if you don't cover it, you know who does ? Tax payers.. and no offense, but I don't want to pay for anyone's wife/husband to come to America.

florida_guy is right. I know people who have paid/received 10k or more to marry for papers.

We're filing the first of May (if all goes right) for my soon-to-be husband's AOS and EAD. Even if the potential increase in fee wasn't around the corner, he wants to work.
I feel bad for those couples who won't be filing until June or so.

Wrong florida_guy. Tax payers do not pay for USCIS processing. They are entirely run from the filing fees.

I think he meant that if we don't pay up then tax payers would eventually have to in order cover the cost to keep the system running and not that tax payers pay for it now.

I am sure you have read the press release from the USCIS regarding fees increase...
It says that the cost to process is higher than what they are charging right now. Who do you think pays the difference between what they charge and what we pay ? The gov't. Who gives money to the gov't ? We do.

Thank you....



Exactly. Thank you.

And I don't agree with whoever said that tax payers would eventually have to pick up the tab. The exact reason it is so expensive and is becoming more expensive is so tax payers don't have to pick it up - they'll keep raising the fees. If a small amt is paid from taxes ... so be it - I'd rather have it go toward immigration than some other things our taxes go toward.

If it's that important to you, you WILL find a way to pay it - we borrowed from my sister is law so we could get it filed asap, and the money from our wedding is gone because of the fees. Do I care? Not really, keeping him here is what is most important to me.

Doesn't some of the money go to helping refugees stay in the country, etc? I thought I read that somewhere. That, I don't mind contributing toward.

I know that it's priceless to have your loved ones with you and I am sure my husband would pay and do anything to keep me here. But what if people can't afford those outrageous prices? What if it's gonna take them more than 3-4 years to get all money together? I know couple situations like that. SO I just feel sorry for people who don't have such money.

I'm afraid, I-485 fee doesn't include EAD and AP. Look:

I-131, Application for Travel Document: $305 ($170)
I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status: $905 ($325) if 14 years or older; $805 ($325) if under 14 years.
Fingerprint/Biometric Fee: $80 ($70)
I-765, Application for Employment Authorization: $340 ($180)

So, I-485 + I-765 + I-131 + biometrics comes up to $1,630.

If people can't afford those prices, they wait. They can try for a fee waiver, but those are not easy to get (and I've read they are generally reserved for refugees without a penny in their pockets BUT I know JayJay on here got one). It sucks, but it's the system.



Hmm. You're right. Weird that we keep hearing they're included then.

Makes me really glad we already filed

The USCIS said themselves that the cost of processing these applications is higher than what they are currently charging and that's why fees are increasing. Whether that's true or not, I don't know, but obviously if the cost is higher than what they are collecting SOMEONE SOMEWHERE has to come up with the difference and as with any other gov't agency, the USCIS/DHS runs on tax money (on top of any money collected as fees), so indirectly you and I are paying for the difference between the actual cost X the amount collected. That's just simple math.

I would also rather have it go towards immigration reforms and faster processing times, but unfortunately we don't get to choose where they are putting OUR money...
In my case, we paid $585 (I-130+I-485+Biometrics) - if it costs them - let's say - $700 to process my wife's AOS, who do you think is picking up the difference ?? Bush ?? I dont see him donating any money to the USCIS.

And if anyone doesn't have money to pay for it, they need to check the Fee Waiver Program. I don't how easy/hard it is to get it, but a friend of my wife got it and it was the first time I had heard about it.



I've asked so many times and everyone has told me that the I-485 fee would include I-765 and AP, that's why I was saying I didn't think it was THAT expensive.

And, like I said, if some amount is going to the difference, I'd rather have it go toward immigration expenses than some of the other wasteful expenses (I won't get into particulars, I'm not here for politics) our government spends our money on. Either way, the USC and their spouse will bear the brunt of the costs, and we'll never see as much money going toward immigration as goes toward health care (and look at the sad state of that) or the war in Iraq.

Might do the government good to put more money toward immigration if just to clean up the department, and the misinformation line.

It'll always be in their benefit to say it costs more than we're paying too - gives them a good reason (or excuse, depends on how you look at it) to continue to raise fees.

So when ARE these fee increases supposed to go into effect?

I agree with everything you said... I would love to see OUR money that we worked so hard for put where it is interesting, beneficial, and that enhances our well-being as a nation, I am tired of paying taxes (!!!!!!) and not seeing anything besides a stupid pointless war....

Sorry, I just paid my taxes today and let me tell you, I am angry !!

So, in researching the answer to my question, one site said that there wil be no increase unti USCIS publishes a final rule and another saying that it'll be in June.

The first site also has a table and under the I485, it says there'll be no cost for the AP nor EAD once the $905 has been paid.

Criteria for granting a fee waiver used by USCIS are obviously different from those that ordinary folks may use in determining their inability to pay. We tried for a fee waiver for AOS, and at that time hubby and myself were a true charity case. And we sent in a ton of paperwork to prove it. We didn't get a waiver. We had to wait and save money.

If a family of two has an annual household income of, say, $40,000, they are considered to be way above the poverty line, and may not qualify for a fee waiver. However, we all know that if you make that kind of money a year (less than 3 grand a month after tax), it would be very hard to pay a thousand (or more) in immigration fees without sacrificing something.

All in all, if the fees indeed go up, I'm sure people will still be paying them. Like someone in this thread said, having your loved one with you is priceless.

We had to make sacrifices (we were about 40,000 then, about 47,000 now) - the government hates giving fee waivers so I know how hard they must be to get.

The fee increase may seem high but IMO, if the changes in the immigration system that are proposed are indeed implemented, it is well worth the extra cost. The system as it is now is horrible, and has been in a dire need of an overhaul for many years. I for one feel so much more angry about the current immigration system than I do about the increase in fees. However if after the the new fees are in place the improvements proposed had better be honored. If not they can and should be held accountable. Here are some of the improvements promised by Emilio González - director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

"In an exclusive interview with The Miami Herald last week, Emilio González promised higher fee revenue will help end delays, move offices in run-down buildings to comfortable new facilities, replace paper applications that must be mailed with electronic forms that can be filed online and turn rude or inattentive employees into customer-friendly staff."

"His plans call for 1,500 new immigration officers, online applications and 39 new facilities -- all aimed at processing green cards or citizenship applications in six months or less."

"Within five years, he said, immigrants could be summoned to interviews at facilities resembling bank branches. Officers would review applications by calling up records on computer screens instead of retrieving them on paper from offices across the country or from piles of millions of old files stored at an underground cave in Missouri."

"Immigrants without computers would be able to use terminals at agency offices to file applications with help from federal employees."

"His goal is to create a system so simple that immigrants won't need to hire attorneys."

''The system should be so user-friendly that one should not be scared to get into the system without having to consult an attorney,'' he said.

"If immigrants can't pay -- Citizenship and Immigration Services will waive the fee in hardship cases"



Providing these improvements are indeed honored I feel as if the new system will be so much better and I and my check book welcome it.

Hi All,

Does anyone have a link to a website which indicates when the proposed bill of AOS increased fee will apply?

I plan to postpone my AOS process until next year in June, since I would like to "skip" the lifting conditional permanent resident procedure.


Thanks so much for your help!

angelique

30 days after the posting of the final rule... no one knows when the final rule will be published, but will likely be published sometime after June 1.

I would not wait to file your I-485. In fact, it would be foolish to do so... File it as soon as possible... Filing to lift conditions is a relatively painless procedure...

Way too soon!

New fees go into effect July 30, 2007:
http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments...edule052907.pdf

Here is the latest news release from USCIS:

http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/Fi...lease052907.pdf

The changes are to take effect July 30, 2007. The links did not work for me to find the new fees.

This link shows the new fees:

http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments...edule052907.pdf

THANK GOD!! LOL!! i'LL BE GETTING MINE IN JUST BEFORE THE INCREASE!!

And here is a link to the new fees:

http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments...edule052907.pdf

Wish I could pre-apply for AOS! $1010

After further examination, wih the combining of the forms the actual cost is lower than filing each seperately. $1010 just seems like a big amount to pay all at once.