U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had informed the public that it would increase its fees in May this year. They waited for comments from the public but after receiving none they went ahead with the increases, this time to take effect on Dec. 23.<\/p>\n
The CNMI-Only Transitional Worker nonimmigrant visa is included in the visa classification that increased the filing fee. The CW-1 is a visa classification where businesses in the CNMI are allowed to employ foreign workers provided that they would transition to the U.S. immigration system within a certain period of time.<\/p>\n
The CW-1 visa uses the I-129 form where the filing fee would increase from $325 to $460 per head.<\/p>\n
Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) said yesterday there are costs in processing documents with USCIS. \u201cNo one likes to see fees increased, but there are costs involved in processing immigration and naturalization benefit requests.<\/p>\n
\u201cUSCIS has an obligation to recover the cost of those services. A comprehensive fee review concluded that the current fees do not allow full cost recovery,\u201d said Sablan.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that the proposed fees were first posted on the Federal Register. \u201cThe Department of Homeland Security published a proposed fee schedule in the Federal Register in May this year. No comments were received and the new rule takes effect\u00a0on Dec. 23.\u201d<\/p>\n
USCIS\u2019 funds come from the fees paid by applicants and petitioners that want to avail of immigration benefits. This new adjustment of filing fees for immigration applications and petitions is the first time in six years.<\/p>\n
Federal law requires USCIS to conduct reviews of its fees every two years \u201cto determine the funding levels necessary to administer the nation\u2019s immigration laws, process benefit requests and provide the infrastructure needed to support those activities,\u201d said USCIS in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis increase is necessary to recover the full cost of services provided by USCIS. These include the costs associated with fraud detection and national security, customer service and case processing, and providing services without charge to refugee and asylum applicants and to other customers eligible for fee waivers or exemptions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is our first fee increase since November 2010, and we sincerely appreciate the valuable public input we received as we prepared this final rule,\u201d said USCIS director Le\u00f3n Rodr\u00edguez. \u201cWe are mindful of the effect fee increases have on many of the customers we serve. That\u2019s why we decided against raising fees as recommended after the fiscal year 2012 and 2014 fee reviews. However, as an agency dependent upon users\u2019 fees to operate, these changes are now necessary to ensure we can continue to serve our customers effectively. We will also offer a reduced filing fee for certain naturalization applicants with limited means.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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