USCIS has updated its Policy Manual to align with the Fee Schedule and Changes to Certain Other Immigration Benefit Request Requirements Final Rule, effective April 1, 2024. The revisions to the policy manual will apply to all applications and petitions postmarked on or after April 1.

USCIS will use the postmark date of a filing to determine which form version and fees are correct, but we will use the receipt date for purposes of any regulatory or statutory filing deadlines.

The revised guidance covers new form fees, fee waivers and fee exemptions, limits on the number of beneficiaries for certain employment-based forms, and a new form supplement for orphan intercountry adoption cases.

New forms will be available online on April 1, 2024. One will not be able to submit older versions of forms online after April 1. On April 1, any Form N-400 drafts in progress will be deleted and one has to restart the application.

Forms and Grace Periods

USCIS will accept prior editions of most forms during a grace period from April 1 through June 3 filed with the correct fee.

USCIS will use the postmark date but will use the received date of a filing to determine which form version and fees are correct, for purposes of any regulatory or statutory filing deadlines, and for when the premium processing clock starts.

There is no grace period for fees. All forms must include the new fee on April 1.

There will be no grace period for the following form editions:

Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker;
Form I-129CW, Petition for a CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker;
Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers;
Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition (and supplement 1, 2 and 3); and
Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative (and supplement 1, 2 and 3).

H-1B Registration Fee

New $215 H-1B registration fee based on the results of the FY 2022/2023 fee review.

The H-1B registration fee during the March 2024 registration period will remain $10.

New $215 fee to be applied during the March 2025 registration period.

H-1B Registration Rule Published: Feb. 2, 2024. Effective: March 4, 2024.

Beneficiary-centric process: Registrations by Unique Beneficiary

Starting with the March 2024 initial registration period (for FY 2025), will require valid passport or travel document for each beneficiary

Codifies USCIS ability to deny or revoke H-1B petitions where the underlying registration contained a false attestation or was otherwise invalid

Temporary increase in daily credit card transaction limit to $99,999.

Employment-Based Petitions: Form I-129 & I-129 CW

Establishes separate fees for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, by nonimmigrant classification.

Up to 50% discounted fee for Form I-129 for nonprofits and small employers (25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees).

Limits the number of named beneficiaries on H-2A and H-2B petitions for nonimmigrant workers to 25, among others.

Effectively applies to all Form I-129 petitions that allow multiple named beneficiaries, such as H-3, O-2, P-1, P-2, P-3, P-1S, P-2S, P-3S, and Q-1 classifications. Does not apply to Form I-129CW.

Premium Processing

Effective February 26, 2024, under authority in the Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act of 2020, and independent of the 2024 Final Fee Rule, DHS increased premium processing fees to reflect the increase in the Consumer Price Index from June 2021 through June 2023. (88 FR 89539, Dec. 28, 2023.)

The inflationary adjustment increases premium processing fees from $1,500 to $1,685, $1,750 to $1,965, and $2,500 to $2,805. • The 2024 Final Fee Rule revised the premium processing timeframe from calendar days to business days.

Biometrics

No separate biometric services fee.

USCIS biometric services costs are spread among requests which require biometric services storage and maintenance of biometric information, obtaining background checks, operating the application support centers, identity verification, and creating secure documents.

A separate biometric services fee of $30 will still be required for Form I-821, and EOIR Forms EOIR-40, EOIR 42A, and EOIR 42B, however.

Application for Employment Authorization

With the new rule, the fees for Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and Form I-131, Application for Travel Document, will not be bundled or fee exempt when filing for adjustment (I-485).

Form I-765 = $260 if filed in connection with a Form I-485 that was filed with fee after the fee rule goes into effect (April 1, 2024). However, in general, if you filed a Form I-485 before April 1, 2024, and paid the fee, then you do not need to pay for Form I-765 or I-131 renewals while that Form I-485 is pending.

Form I-131 = $630. No fee exemption for an I-131 filed in connection with an I-485 that was filed after April 1. 14

Form I-130 = $625 (online); $675 (paper).

Form N-400 Application for Naturalization

Form N-400: $760 (paper filing), $710 (online filing), or $380 (reduced fee).

Fee waiver eligibility remains the same, including for household income less than 150% of Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG).

Reduced fee ($380) ifhousehold income is up to 400% ofFPG. o Previous regulations provided this for applicants between 150 to 200% of FPG.

All N-400 applicants must submit biometrics. There is no longer a separate biometric services fee.