New proposed immigration fees would hit businesses hard

Back in November 2019, the Department of Homeland Security proposed increased fees across numerous business categories that would impact companies in the U.S. that need to access the global talent pool.

According to this article by Forbes writer Stuart Anderson, "The administration plans to raise fees more than 50% for many business applications, while workers will need to pay more to become citizens or gain permanent residence."

With the rise in fees, the processing times also appear to continue increasing as no process changes are being proposed or altered. With USCIS requiring in-person interviews for employment-based immigrant applications and with many more requests for evidence for H-1B petitions, processing times have continued to rise. This article by Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP, sums it up by stating that:

"The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has implemented inefficient policies that have resulted in crisis-level case processing delays and backlogs. Now the agency is proposing higher fees without adequately addressing the inefficiencies."

How much would fees be increasing? According to this article, the fee for L visa petitions will increase by 77%, rising from $460 to $815. The fee for an H-1B petition will rise by 22%, from $460 to $560. While the fees are proposed and may change in the final ruling on them, we suggest working with your immigration partner to evaluate, or re-evaluate your budget and consider raising it significantly since most every employment-based category will be significantly higher.

When might this happen? The DHS proposal will not take effect until it clears the federal review process, which could take several months. Doug Rand of Boundless said in an interview to anticipate at least two or three months into 2020 before a final rule on the fee increases is published. Here are additional resources for more on this increased fees and analysis of the situation:

Immigration fees set to be much higher in 2020

USCIS Proposes Significant Fee Hikes

Marriage Green Card and Citizenship Application Fees to Increase Under New Proposal

And for some light reading, try the Federal Register which is the daily journal of the U.S. government.