Comment period closes for proposed USCIS fee increases

On May 4, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") published a proposed rule to increase USCIS filing fees an average of 21% across all application types and to add a few new fees to its existing fee schedule. USCIS indicated it was seeking fee increases for the first time in 5 years in order to cover its current costs for processing a variety of applications. A full copy of the notice and proposed fee changes can be found on the Federal Register website, and a summary of a few of the proposed fee changes can be found on our website. The notice and comment period, originally set to close on July 5, 2016, was extended to July 6, 2016, with DHS having received at least 340 public comments.