Business immigration fees are set to rise under USCIS proposed legislation.

Employers will pay higher fees for workers to petition and sponsor permanent residency under the proposed US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) fee regulations. The rule is subject to a 60-day comment period, after which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may publish a final rule. The proposed rule includes a new tax on businesses and universities to support the US asylum program. The rule provides for a significant increase in fees for using the H-1B electronic registration system.

Increases payment to employers

Under the proposed rule, employers hiring highly skilled foreign nationals would pay 70% more on H-1B petitions, 201% more workers on L-1 petitions, and 129% more individuals on O-1 petitions. (H-1B petitions increased from $460 to $780, L-1 petitions increased from $460 to $1,385, and O-1 petitions increased from $460 to $1,055.)

The process of registering with biometric services for I-485 (adjustment of status), I-131 (advance waiver) and I-765 for work permit (on paper) to adjust status to obtain permanent residence in the United States increases by 130% ($1,225 to $2,820). These costs can multiply if a principal has dependents. Filing Forms I-485 and I-131 electronically will be a 77% increase ($1,225 to $2,170).

Fees for designated beneficiaries for H-2A petitions (for agricultural workers) will increase by 137 percent (from $460 to $1,090) and for H-2B petitions (for seasonal, non-agricultural workers) by 135% (from $460 to $1,080). Economists note that increasing fees on these visa categories is at odds with US policymakers’ desire to bring more workers into the United States legally.

An immigrant petition filed by an investor in a regional center will increase by 204% (from $3,675 to $11,160), and an investor’s petition to remove conditions on permanent residence will increase by 154% (from $3,750 to $9,525).

Another part of the proposed rule would make processing premiums take longer: USCIS would process cases within 15 business days instead of the current 15. Calendar Days.

Two significant fee increases: H-1B registration and asylum program funding

Employers will also notice two other significant pay increases. First, “DHS [Department of Homeland Security] Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Employee, or Form I-140, Alien Employee Immigrant Petition, provides a new asylum program fee of $600 to be paid by employers filing immigrant petitions.

Dan Berger of Curran, Berger & Kludt confirmed that employers can pay this $600 fee more than once to the same individual. For example, an employer may file an initial H-1B petition, an extension of H-1B status, and then an employment-based green card immigrant petition (I-140).

USCIS/DHS The 2019 H-1B petition proposed raising the H-1B electronic registration fee from $10 to $215 per beneficiary, a 2,050% increase. “DHS understands that an increase of $10 to $215 may seem excessive in retrospect” due to the proposed rule increase.

In future years, the number of H-1B registrations will increase by 2023. If the same, employers would collectively pay about $100 million annually under the proposed rule, based on a national analysis of U.S. policy.

USCIS doesn’t approve of the proposed $215 fee with much clarity, especially since the system has been in place for years. “USCIS lacks data on the direct costs of H-1B registration, but USCIS has estimated the indirect costs of the H-1B registration program using the same methods used to calculate other fees,” according to the proposed rule. “The cost estimation method provides similar results to the USCIS immigration fee established as part of the 2010/2011 fiscal year fee regulations. However, the H-1B registration fee covers a few functions and provides financial support. DHS will base its proposed payment on activity costs for the following activities: Notify the public [and] Management and Control”.

It is not clear how much the “publicity notification” costs for the H-1B electronic registration system are beyond posting the information on the USCIS website. The costs of “administration and control” are also difficult to assess. One thing is clear: Elsewhere in the regulation, USCIS considers that Less expensive Forms for the agency are filed electronically (ie, employers and others pay a small fee when they file electronically). However, the completely paper-based system of submitting completed H-1B petitions to USCIS has now gone electronic and employers are being asked to pay a much higher fee. On its website, USCIS states, “The electronic enrollment process has streamlined the process…”

Concern about the increased cost

Members of the legal, business and university communities lament the challenges facing USCIS after years of mounting problems. However, there are also concerns about the proposed fee regulation.

“While I understand the need for USCIS to increase fees for benefits, the proposed fee regulation does not seem to address the real problems, which are, from our perspective as USCIS clients, adjudication efficiency, outdated technology and procedures, etc., said Dagmar Boothe, an immigration attorney at Parker Boothe & Lane. “For example, from I -Increasing the combined fee for the I-485 adjustment status filed simultaneously from $1,225 to $2,820 for the 765 work authorization application and I-131 advance waiver document will not reduce the adjudication time for work and travel authorizations. Currently, the average is 7 to 12 months.

“If history is any guide, my client, who is the spouse of a United States citizen and is awaiting work authorization as of December 1, 2021, may not see much progress at this time due to the fee increase. . Processing times in these product lines have increased since the last fee increase was implemented.

Concerns have also been raised about the impact of a $600 fee on a single employment application to support the US asylum program. “For many colleges and universities, the proposed increase in tuition, existing costs, and other proposed fees is suspended, which can be very difficult and could affect their ability to hire the talented faculty and researchers needed to teach and teach critical research,” said the executive director of the Presidents’ Coalition on Higher Education and Immigration. According to Miriam Feldblom.

Dagmar Bute pointed out two other problems: The proposed rule’s $2,820 adjustment in status fee would cost a family with two children over 14 more than $11,000. “The idea of ​​charging more for paper submissions is also problematic,” she said. “In an ideal world, it makes sense. But in a world where USCIS routinely loses file sections, doesn’t yet have a reliable method for uploading supporting documents, and lacks clarity about what happens after pressing the ‘submit’ button, filers are hesitant to use the electronic method. Considering the consequences even if USCIS made the mistakes.

The most covered immigration news in the past few years has been how to handle asylum seekers at the Southwest Border. However, members of Congress who have been vocal on border issues have failed to adequately fund asylum officers and other parts of the process. As a result, USCIS attempted to resolve the issue with a $600 fee for petitioning interested workers and professionals.

In the private sector, consumers pay a price to obtain a product or service. With the $600 fee to fund the welfare program, the federal government requires employers to pay for something for which they receive no benefits. USCIS may receive many comments about the proposed higher fees.