Dear Friends and Allies,

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is raising fees. The proposed fee increases are higher than in the past and are not necessary.  Fees are supposed to cover the cost for USCIS to process applications. USCIS now sends hundreds of millions of dollars of fees to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE uses these fees to enforce immigration law, not to process applications. 

Besides increasing fees, USCIS proposes an end to most fee waivers, which allow low-income immigrants to submit many applications without paying fees.

What are the current fees and what are the proposed changes?

USCIS has proposed higher fees for many applications. These include: 

The proposed fee for asylum applicants would be the first in our nation’s history. Only three other countries in the world charge a fee to apply for asylum.

For more information on the proposed fee increases and ending fee waivers, click here.  

Proposed changes were announced on November 9. They were published in the Federal Register on November 14. Normally, the public has 60 days to comment on this type of proposal. The public only has 30 days to comment on this proposal. The deadline for comment is December 16.

After the comment period, USCIS must consider comments. There are no rules about how much time USCIS has to do this. After considering comments, USCIS will publish a final rule.

What Can You Do?

1. File a comment.
   • Click here for a quick comment opposing the proposal to make naturalization more expensive.
   • Click here for a quick comment opposing a fee for asylum applications.
2. Call Congress. Congress can stop the proposal from going into effect.  Congress can also change the proposal after it is in effect. They can pass a law ordering fee waivers for applications. They can pass a law limiting the amount of fee increases.

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely, 

Veena Iyer

Executive Director
Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota

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