**UPDATE** Notice of USCIS Fee Increase 5.15.24
As you may already be aware, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has increased their fees for I-140, I-485, Advanced Parole (Travel Authorization), and EAD (Work Authorization) filings as of April 1, 2024.
This message serves as an update and reminder regarding the increase in fees for you and your employees.
The I-140 fee has increased to $715 and there is now an additional government fee of $300–$600 for an “Asylum Fee”. The Asylum fee is $300 for employers who employ less than 25 workers, and $600 for employers who employ 25 or more employees. Since this Asylum fee is directed by USCIS towards the company, we highly suggest that the company pay for this additional fee; however, this fee may be passed onto the sponsored worker, if needed. Please discuss and plan accordingly for the filing of your workers’ I-140 and Green Card Applications. NOTE: Several lawsuits have been filed against the USCIS regarding the implementation of the Asylum Fee, but for now, it is required. We will relay updates on the Asylum fee as they come in.
As you may recall from our prior email regarding changes in fees, this email serves as a reminder that the USCIS has de-bundled the I-485 Adjustment of Status from the forms I-765 Work Authorization and I-131 Advance Parole, thus making those forms optional and, on a case-by-case basis, less expensive overall. When the time comes for us to file your workers’ final green card application, we will consult with you and the worker whether the worker needs to pay the additional government fee for the Work Authorization or Advance Parole, depending on their and the company’s circumstances. Conversely, if your workers want to process their green card in their home country, that is also an option and the fees have not increased for that as of today. The new fees are as follows:
- I-140 Filing Fee: $715, plus Asylum fee of $300 or $600 depending on if the company has more or less than 25 employees.
- I-485 Filing Fee: $1,440.
- I-765 Filing Fee (employment card – optional): $260, if filed concurrently with the I-485, or $520 if filed separately.
- I-131 Filing Fee (travel permit – optional): $630.
Due to these increases, ULS encourages employers to offset some of these extra costs for the workers by offering to cover the cost of the travel permit or some other costs.
Please be aware that ULS has NOT increased its own fees. The increase in fees is purely to reflect the increase in USCIS filing fees.
While the increase in USCIS fees is frustrating, the additional fees will go to creating efficiencies in USCIS that will hopefully speed up the Green Card process. Unlike most federal agencies, USCIS is almost entirely fee funded. These fee increases will likely help reduce the processing times that we are seeing currently at the agency.
As a reminder, please continue to collect your employees’ portion of payments towards stages two and three.
Elliott S. Mason
President and General Counsel