On Monday, January 8, 2024, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) received the final rule outlining the increased fees for US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) filings. Normally, OIRA has 90 days to complete its review, but the Biden administration may prioritize a final rule sooner since it has been eight years since the last immigration filing fee increases. It is also clear that USCIS, as the recipient agency of these fee increases, wants these new fees to be implemented as soon as possible as the increases are deemed necessary to cover operating costs. USCIS does not receive taxpayer appropriations, so its entire operating budget comes from user fees.
Based on previous fee-related rules, once published in the Federal Register, the new fees will be effective 60 days later.
Read the rest of the story at The National Law Review, here.