New Visa Fees in Effect January 1, 2008
The U.S. Department of State has announced that effective January 1, 2008, the application fee for a U.S. non-immigrant visa will increase from $100 to $131 and the fee for a U.S. immigrant visa will...
View ArticleCitizenship Applications Down 59%
USCIS has released the numbers of citizenship applications filed for the first six months of 2008. For the period January-June 2008, on average, there were approximately 46,000 citizenship...
View ArticleUSCIS Reports on Progress Towards Processing Time Goals
The USCIS has released a chart describing its progress towards meeting the fiscal year (FY) 2008 and FY 2009 processing time goals. Attached is a PDF of the chart with a couple of annotations...
View ArticleGAO Report on USCIS Fees
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has produced another set of two excellent and very revealing reports – one reviewing the Immigration and Naturalization Fees and one suggesting improvements...
View ArticleUSCIS Fees – Common Problems and Mistakes
The USCIS Ombudsman has released a recommendation report which urges overhaul of the USCIS fee payment system. USCIS is considered a “pay-for-service” government agency where petitioners pay for the...
View Article2007 USCIS Fee Increase Seems…Insufficient
Most of our clients and readers remember the summer of 2007 when USCIS raised the filing fees for certain services by a substantial amount (in all fairness, USCIS decreased the fees for certain...
View ArticleDOS Announces Increased Visa Stamp Application Fees
The Department of State (DOS) issued an advance copy of the interim final rule on the Schedule of Fees for Consular Services, Department of State and Overseas Embassies and Consulates. The notice was...
View ArticleUSCIS Plans Increase in Filing Fees
In a recent announcement, USCIS, as part of their annual budget review and due to lower-than-estimated fee revenue collection, proposed a fee increase that will amount to an average increase of 10%...
View ArticleH-1B and L-1 Fee Increase for Certain Filings Becomes Effective
Many of our readers and clients are aware of the recent developments with respect to the “border security bill” passed by Congress and recently signed by President Obama into law (Public Law 111-230)....
View ArticleNew ESTA Fee Goes Into Effect September 8, 2010 for Visa Waiver Program...
We wish to remind our readers and clients that a new fee goes into effect starting on September 8, 2010 for Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) registration. ESTA is a required...
View ArticleFY2011 H-1B Numbers Update – 33,900 Regular and 12,600 Masters Cap Visas Used...
USCIS released the weekly FY2011 information on the numbers of cap-subject H-1Bs filed since April 1. As of August 20, 2010, USCIS has received approximately 33,900 H-1B petitions counting toward...
View ArticleNew Appointment Service for All U.S. Visa Applicants in Canada
We have clients and our office handles a number of U.S. visa applications submitted in Canada. Accordingly, we wish to report on a new appointment service for all U.S. visa applicants in Canada, which...
View ArticleIncrease in USCIS Filing Fees Goes Into Effect on November 23, 2010
We wrote earlier in the summer about USCIS’ plans and proposed rule to increase certain filing fees. The final rule was published a few days ago in the Federal Register and the new increased filing...
View ArticleReminder: USCIS Increases Filing Fees on Nov. 23
We wrote extensively in the past for the planned and the announced USCIS fee increase which is set to take effect on November 23rd for all applications filed or postmarked on or beyond this date. For...
View ArticleNew USCIS Filing Fees Are Now In Effect
On November 23, 2010, the pre-announced increase in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) filing fees went into effect. All applications and petitions filed must now include the new...
View ArticleUSCIS Revamps Fee Waiver Application Process and Criteria
Along with the USCIS filing fee increase which went into effect on November 23, 2010, USCIS has revamped the guidelines, criteria and application process for filing fee waivers. While granting a...
View ArticleUS Consular Visa Processing Fees to Change April 13, 2012
Effective April 13, 2012, the Department of State is changing the visa processing fees. Some of the fees will increase, while some will decrease. For example, the fees for most nonimmigrant visa...
View ArticleNew USCIS Fee for Immigrants Entering the US for First Time After Consular...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) has announced that effective February 1, 2013, USCIS will begin collecting an additional USCIS Immigrant Fee of $165.00 from foreign nationals...
View ArticleCertain US Consular Visa Processing Fees to Change September 12, 2014
Effective September 12, 2014, the Department of State is changing the visa processing fees. Some of the fees will increase, while some will decrease. For example, the fees for K nonimmigrant visa...
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