USCIS will increase fees for migratory services
A person shows the U.S. residency card (green card) . EFE.
The Barack Obama’s administration announced Wednesday it intends to raise fees by at least 10 percent on immigration services in the United States. The federal government has indicated that the measure could take effect before September 30.
According to the head of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Alejandro Mayorkas, the measure is needed because over the last two years there has been a drop in the number of revenue from these procedures.
The immigration agency obtains about 90 percent of their funding through the fees. Currently the USCIS has a deficit of 200 million dollars.
“Talking to the communities in New York, Los Angeles and other places during my travels, they have indicated that the volume of applications have decreased more than projected because of the economic times we live in” said Mayorkas
Mayorkas explained that the increase will affect new applications for residency green cards and work permits. However, there will not be an increase in the cost of citizenship applications.
Those affected by the raise are immigrants covered by the legal protection status and that are in the need to renew their work permits often, which basically are the newly arrived Cubans, Haitians and Central Americans, according to the information released by the Nuevo Herald newspaper.
The new fees for new green cards will rise from $ 930 to $985 dollars. Work permits from $340 to $380, while the current naturalization application fee will continue at $ 595.
Among several new fees, the official said, there will be a $6,230 charge for foreigners proposing to invest $500,000 or more in businesses to create jobs in the United States.
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