Comment on USCIS Fee Schedule
January 6, 2020We submitted comments on the proposed fee schedule from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC submitted this comment on the proposed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Fee Schedule, published on November 14, 2019.
The proposed USCIS fee schedule disproportionately increases fees and eliminates fee waivers for the benefit categories most commonly used by low-income immigrants, leaving essential immigration benefits accessible primarily to the affluent. These unwarranted changes would result in financial hardship for immigrant and mixed-status families, immigrants delaying or losing immigration status due to financial considerations, increased dependence on debt to finance applications, and decreased involvement of qualified legal assistance resulting in difficult and inefficient USCIS processing and adjudication, among many other problems.
Advancing Justice | AAJC is deeply concerned that the Department of Homeland Security is increasing fees, particularly for naturalization and adjustment of status to permanent residence, in a concerted effort to deter the immigration and naturalization of people of color, and that these policies are rooted in and motivated by racism.