Tellurous

February 4

On 2/1/2024 at 3:28 PM, Gary Rich said:

( AOS question ) I'm sure those who do know that, there will be an increase in fees. I spoke with someone today and they indicated that each document will have its own price come April 1st 2024

Have anyone heard of this because i called USCIS today twice, and they said that there will be just increases. my point is that. ( just being transparent) (I only would have to pay for my fiancee

and daughter's AOS and Bio for the mom.. not the child bio.. and pay for the child's AOS ) now USCIS also said that i won't have to pay for any EAD or Advance travel because I'm doing all 3 together

Straight from the USCIS Newsroom: https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/uscis-issues-final-rule-to-adjust-certain-immigration-and-naturalization-fees

Inveigh · January 31

No, it's not a joke. The date appears to be pure coincidence.

From: https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/uscis-issues-final-rule-to-adjust-certain-immigration-and-naturalization-fees

Release Date

01/30/2024

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule to adjust certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees for the first time since 2016. The final rule will allow USCIS to recover a greater share of its operating costs and support more timely processing of new applications.

The final rule is the result of a comprehensive fee review, as required by law, and follows the January 2023 publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking. The review concluded that the current fee schedule falls far short in recovering the full cost of agency operations, including the necessary expansion of humanitarian programs, federally mandated pay raises, additional staffing requirements, and other essential investments.

“For the first time in over seven years, USCIS is updating our fees to better meet the needs of our agency, enabling us to provide more timely decisions to those we serve,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou. “Despite years of inadequate funding, the USCIS workforce has made great strides in customer service, backlog reduction, implementing new processes and programs, and upholding fairness, integrity, and respect for all we serve.”

USCIS received over 5,400 unique public comments in response to its January 2023 notice of proposed rulemaking. USCIS took into consideration comments and feedback received during the proposed rulemaking process. Acknowledging this feedback from stakeholders, the final fee rule includes several important updates since the initial rulemaking. The final rule:

Lowers the agency’s required annual cost recovery by $727 million, in part by considering the budget effects of improved efficiency measures;
Expands fee exemptions for Special Immigrant Juveniles and victims of human trafficking, crime, and domestic violence; U.S. military service members and our Afghan allies;
and families pursuing international adoption;Provides special fee discounts for nonprofit organizations and small business employers;
Allows for half-price Employment Authorization Document applications for applicants for adjustment of status and a reduced fee for adjustment of status applicants under the age of 14 in certain situations;
Expands eligibility for a 50% fee reduction for naturalization applications, available to individuals who can demonstrate household income between 150% and 400% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines; and Implements a standard $50 discount for online filers.

Every fee in the final rule is the same or lower than in the proposed rule. For most individual filers, the final rule limits how much newly established fees may increase. Under the final rule, the new fees will not increase by more than 26%, which is equivalent to the increase in the Consumer Price Index since the last fee rule was issued in 2016.

With the new revenues the rule will generate, USCIS will continue using innovative solutions to improve customer experience and stem backlog growth. Although the fee increases announced today will allow USCIS to better offset overall costs, congressional funding continues to be necessary to sustainably and fully address the increased volume of caseloads associated with recent border crossers, including by hiring additional USCIS personnel to help right-size a system that was not built to manage the numbers of cases USCIS receives.

The new fees under the final rule will go into effect on April 1, 2024.

USCIS encourages stakeholders to visit the Frequently Asked Questions page on its website to view a full list of the revised forms that will go into effect on April 1, 2024, along with the new fees. USCIS will accept prior editions of most forms during a grace period from April 1, 2024, through June 3, 2024. During this grace period, USCIS will accept both previous and new editions of certain forms, filed with the correct fee.

USCIS will use the postmark date of a filing to determine which form version and fees are correct but will use the receipt date for purposes of any regulatory or statutory filing deadlines.

FAQ and associated table of filing fee increases:

https://www.uscis.gov/frequently-asked-questions-on-the-uscis-fee-rule

RishDan · November 2, 2023

October 17: Box mailed via UPS

October 19: Box reached Elgin lockbox (Priority Date)

October 23: USCIS text received
October 25: Money order has been cashed
October 30: Biometrics Reuse letter + USCIS Online access code letter received. Found out that our service center is YSC (Potomac).
November 1: Extension letter received, sent from Potomac Service Center.

October 31, 2023

5 hours ago, Mavan said:

Just received a 48 month extension letter for I-751.

Did you get it alongside an online account letter?

October 30, 2023

October 17: Box mailed via UPS

October 19: Box reached Elgin lockbox (Priority Date)

October 23: USCIS text received
October 25: Money order has been cashed
October 30: Biometrics Reuse letter + USCIS Online access code letter. Found out that our service center is YSC (Potomac).

No sign of the Receipt Notice extension letter yet. I suppose those get sent out separate?

Bars&Saqi · October 23, 2023

October 17: Box mailed via UPS

October 19: Box reached Elgin lockbox

October 23: USCIS text received

Diamda2005 · January 14, 2022

Green card in hand today! Thanks everyone, for sharing your experiences so far and for helping each other get through this!

03/16/2021: Packet posted via UPS

03/18/2021: (PD) I-130/I-485/I-131/I-765/I-864/I-693 packet delivered to Chicago lockbox via UPS.

04/13/2021: 4 texts received, 4 receipt numbers. Fingerprint fee received for I-485 the day before according to status checker.

07/01/2021: Submitted a change of address for all 4 forms (AR-11)

07/17/2021: Notice date for biometrics appointment, scheduled for 8/11/2021

07/29/2021: Received email notice confirming change of address has been successfully completed.

08/11/2021: Completed biometrics appointment at Tampa ASC for both I-485 and I-765

08/17/2021: Status change for I-485, case is ready to be scheduled for an interview.

10/20/2021: Status change for I-765, new card is being produced.

10/21/2021: Status change for I-765 & I-131, approved.

10/25/2021: Received approval I-797's for both I-765 and I-131 applications.

10/26/2021: EAD+AP combo card received.

11/18/2021: Status change for I-485, interview was scheduled

11/22/2021: Interview letter sent

11/26/2021: Interview letter received, interview will be on January 6, 2022.

01/06/2022: Interview at Tampa FO

01/06/2022: I-485 status changed to "New Card is being produced"

01/07/2022: I-485 and I-130 status changed to "Approved"

01/11/2022: I-485 status changed to "Card was mailed to me"

01/14/2022: Green card, I-130, and I-485 approval notices delivered and in hand

Diamda2005 · January 6, 2022

Just had our interview today at the Tampa field office. Waited for almost an hour after our appointment time. We arrived 30 minutes before, so it was about 1.5 hours of waiting. By the time it was our turn, there were quite a few people waiting in the large waiting area. The officer was really nice and the interview was very straight forward and only took about 20 or so minutes. She started off asking if we had food yet, and she stated that she's looking forward to lunch soon. Most of the time was spent double checking the details on our forms and answering the inadmissibility questions. Besides that, we were only asked asked how and when we met and the basic timeline of our relationship. The officer asked for our joint lease, joint bank statements, joint checks written out, and flipped through the photo album we brought. The only photo she took out of the album to keep was a photo of me eating at home, a candid shot by my wife (we found that kinda amusing and surprising, was expecting she would take the latest thanksgiving photos where we were seeing friends and family). She did not want anything else we brought (joint phone bill, joint plane tickets, gift receipts for each other), nor did she ask to see any of our birth certificates, tax forms, pay stubs, or drivers licenses. At the end, she said she should get everything done by the end of the day, and that I will get my green card in the mail. I was also handed a piece of paper stating that the case is being held for review and that they do not need anything from me in the meantime, but I suppose that is a standard form they hand out to everyone now.

There was another couple that looked visibly distraught in the waiting room; they were being interviewed separately for over an hour. Everyone else that went before us seemed to be interviewed together.

All in all, it felt much easier than we imagined it would be. Hopefully it's smooth sailing still from here.

Diamda2005 · November 27, 2021

Got my interview letter, and now have a date (1/6/2022). A bit further out than expected, but I guess they try not to schedule anything within the holiday week.