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ALERT
February 13,
2007
PROPOSED
USCIS FILING FEE INCREASE TO TAKE EFFECT AS OF JUNE 1,
2007: IT’S
TIME TO FILE YOUR APPLICATION
NOW!
USCIS published a Proposed Rule in the Federal
Register on February 1, 2007, which proposes to raise filing
fees significantly on all immigration applications and
petitions. Fee increases will take effect no sooner than 120
days after the publish date. The Proposed Rule creates a 60
day public comment period. Any comments submitted in
response to the rule must be taken into consideration and
responded to before the rule is
finalized.
A few highlights:
|
Form
No. |
Title |
Current
Fee |
Proposed
Fee |
Difference |
|
I-129 |
Nonimmigrant
worker petitions
|
$190 |
$320 |
$130 |
|
I-129F |
Alien
Fiancee petition
|
$170 |
$455 |
$285 |
|
I-130 |
Alien
Relative petition
|
$190 |
$355 |
$165 |
|
I-131 |
Travel
Document
|
$170 |
$305 |
$135 |
|
I-140 |
Immigrant
Petition for Alien Worker
|
$195 |
$475 |
$280 |
|
I-485 |
Application
to Adjust Status
|
$325 |
$905 |
$580 |
|
I-751 |
Petition
to Remove Conditions on
Residence
|
$205 |
$465 |
$260 |
|
I-765 |
Employment
Authorization
|
$180 |
$340 |
$160 |
|
N-400 |
Naturalization
Application |
$330 |
$595 |
$265 |
USCIS proposes to eliminate filing fees for
I-765 applications for employment authorization and I-131
applications for travel authorization filed with the I-485.
The huge fee increase is purportedly to compensate for
elimination of those filing fees, even though many
adjustment of status applicants choose not to apply for work
and/or travel authorization.
The USCIS also
promises that the new fee schedule
will improve service levels and ensure the security and
integrity of the immigration system without causing backlogs
to return. This fee review is based for the first time on an
enhanced staffing model that is designed to align resources
with the need to prevent future backlogs, providing for an
efficient and effective workforce balance.
Please contact our office NOW at
603.228.1277 if you are considering applying for a visa or
changing your status while in the
U.S.
EMPLOYERS:
START THE H-1B VISA APPLICATION PROCESS NOW !
REMEMBER: LAST YEAR THE
H-1B VISA CAP WAS REACHED BEFORE END OF MAY .
Most employers are aware of the annual cap of
65,000 H-1B visas for Specialty Workers. The cap opens up
each year on October 1, the start of the government's fiscal
year; however, because H-1B petitions can be filed 6 months
in advance of the employment start date, they can be filed
as early as April 1, 2007.
Every year the cap has been filling up sooner
and sooner. Last year, the cap was reached on end of May, creating a
window of less than 2 months during which any new H-1B
petitions could be filed for that year.
Please contact our office if you wish
to change status to H-1B or obtain your first H-1B
visa ,
so we can begin preparing the petition in February for
filing on April 1, 2007.
GREAT NEWS FOR
PHILIPPINE NURSES: NCLEX TO BE OFFERED IN MANILA
The National Council of State Boards of
Nursing (NCSBN) has selected Manila, the capital city of the
Philippines, as a
new site for the administration of the NCLEX
examinations. This testing center could go live by
this summer depending on how quickly Pearson Vue can prepare
the testing
center. | |
|
Nashua, New
Hampshire Office Now
Open
GoffWilson
has opened
a new office in Nashua, New
Hampshire at 20 Trafalgar Square, Suite
424.
The
office will help us meet the rapidly growing demand
for immigration services of Southern New Hampshire and
greater Boston.
Please
visit our web site at www.goffwilson.com for
directions to our new office, and in case you have any
questions, please call us at 603/ 589-4018. We hope to see
you soon!
Did you
know?
Border Fence Could Cost $49
Billion. If the United
States government actually
decides to build a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexico
border, the final cost could be as much as $49 billion over
the next 25 years. And, according to the Congressional
Research Service (CRS), the nonpartisan research arm of
Congress, even then the fence might not effectively protect
the border against drug smugglers and others who want to
cross the border undetected. The $49 billion price tag is
based on estimates from the Army Corps of Engineers that
helped build the existing 14-mile long fence in San
Diego and would cover the cost of the
700-mile fence Congress authorized last year. However, the
U.S. has
a 1,952-mile long border with Mexico.
Therefore, CRS suggests, a $49 billion, 700-mile border
fence really would not be effective in preventing people
from crossing the border illegally.
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