A federal judge has temporarily blocked USCIS fee increases that were scheduled to go into effect on October 2. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) were scheduled to increase fees on immigration applications by up to 546%:
• Applying for U.S. citizen will increase 81% more to $1170
• U visa application fee increase from $230 to $1,485 – a 546% increase.
• H-1B increase of 21% to $555
• Requesting genealogy records increases 300%
• New $50 fee for asylum seekers
• 34% increase for I-765 Employment Authorization Documents to $550
A federal court judge, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White of the Northern District of California in San Francisco, on September 30 temporarily blocked the Trump administration from raising USCIS fees and said the fee increases would irreparably harm vulnerable and low-income immigrants who cannot afford the new fees.
Part of Judge White’s ruling was based on his determination that the fee changes are illegal in part because they were issued by Chad Wolf, the acting Secretary of Homeland Security. The judge agreed with a Government Accountability Office assessment that Mr. Wolf was not legally appointed to his post. In September, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined a coalition of 19 state attorneys general to file an amicus brief in federal district court supporting legal efforts to immediately block a new federal rule that dramatically increases fees for immigration-related applications.
United States immigration laws can be extraordinarily complicated. A small mistake on an application can lead to years of delays to citizenship and even outright denials and deportation. Your decision to hire an experienced immigration lawyer can save you time, money and stress – and make the difference between your immigration application being denied or approved. Contact Godoy Law Office, our skilled immigration lawyers in Chicago, Lombard and Oak Brook can answer any questions about immigration and guide you through every step of the process.
Godoy Law Office serves the entire Chicago, Illinois area including DuPage, Cook, Kane, Will, and Lake Counties.
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Immigration Attorney Mario Godoy has years of experience guiding clients with immigration issues through the immigration process along with guiding clients through the criminal case. Godoy focuses on family-based immigration law, business immigration law, removal defense, and criminal defense representation of immigrants. A criminal charge or conviction can be devastating to your immigration case. With over a decade of immigration law experience and memories of family members who were deported due to bad legal advice, Godoy is committed to helping other immigrant families receive the legal justice they deserve. As a legal entrepreneur who practices immigration law, criminal law, estate and probate law, and running two successful law firms, Mario Godoy understands the importance of keeping families together and making a home and future in America.
