USCIS proposes to increase costs to address the backlog of visa processing

The apex agency for visas in America, that is the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released on Tuesday an announcement of proposed rulesmaking (NPRM) to alter certain naturalisation and immigration benefit fee for requests.

This new structure will permit USCIS to cover its operating expenses more completely to re-establish and keep up-to-date case processing, and avoid the development of case backlogs. In addition, USCIS receives about 96% of its funding through filing fees, not US Congress' allocations.

If it is approved, this action will go a long ways in aiding the USCIS provide more resources and reduce backlogs of visa applications across the globe. For Indian applicants from different types of US visas it is beneficial, considering that it is known that US queues of visas that are in India can be among the largest. Indians applicants for specific types in US visas, such as B1-B2 visas for visitors, can face up to two years or more in waiting for visa interview dates.

"The proposed fee policy is the result of a thorough fee review at USCIS. This review found that the agency's fees that have remained the same since 2016, fall well from recouping the full costs of operations at the agency," according to a press release from USCIS the agency on Wednesday.

USCIS generally issues an annual fee rule and proposes changes to reflect the growth of humanitarian programs as well as federally mandated pay increases and staffing requirements that are higher and other investments that are essential.

"USCIS is facing massive problems since the outbreak, when visa operations were closed globally for a number of months. There were massive resources shortages as USCIS employees are paid out of the fees for visas that are collected. The amount of money collected had decreased after the shutdown of operations. In India the USCIS has added personnel to tackle the enormous backlog of cases, however officers aren't able to cope and often have to interview up to 100 applicants every day or hear an equal number of cases." the Mumbai-based immigration lawyer Poorvi Chothani, said to Times of India in an interview in the year 2000.

In the year 2020, the onset in the Covid -19 pandemic resulted in the drastic reduction of new applications. This resulted in a temporary reduction in revenue of 40 percent. The combination of cash reserves that are depleted and a temporary freeze on hiring and a decline in the number of employees has weakened the capacity of the agency to quickly adjudicate cases particularly when caseloads increase to levels pre-pandemic. The increasing demand for no-cost or low-cost humanitarian programs has contributed to the fiscal pressures.

If the steps proposed are put into place, there's most likely to be significant increase in the cost of various non-immigrant employment visas such as the H-1B among them. The majority are issued to Indians each year. Therefore, the proposed steps taken by USCIS could be met with some critique from companies that work in the US that employ large numbers of foreign workers . They are now facing the additional cost.

"The proposed rule could raise some fees, such as small increases in the cost for certain naturalisation forms but it would also preserve the current fee waiver eligibility for vulnerable and low-income populations, and adding fees exemptions for specific humanitarian programs," the USCIS release stated. If approved the rule will reduce or slightly raise fees for more than one million filers with low income each year.

"In addition to enhancing the customer service process and tackling the increasing work load, USCIS must continue to fulfill our ever-growing humanitarian mission and uphold integrity, fairness and respect for everyone we provide," said USCIS director Ur M. Jaddou. "This rule proposal allows USCIS to recover more of its operating expenses which is the first time it's been done in the past six years and will aid in the administration's efforts to restore our legal system of immigration."

USCIS New measures proposed by USCIS include a plan for incorporating biometrics fees into the primary benefit fee and to eliminate the separate biometrics fee set aside separate charges for each classification of non-immigrants which is covered by Form I-129 petition for non-immigrant workers. alter the processing timeframe for premiums of 15 calendar days, to fifteen business days and reduce charges for certain forms submitted online.

The proposed rule will not alter eligibility for fee waiver conditions. The expected revenue resulting from the proposed rule will allow USCIS more adjudicators who process applications, improve technology and provide more support for those who seek information or help from USCIS.

The 60-day period for public comments begins upon the announcement of NPRM in the Federal Register. Fees will not be changed after the ruling is put into effect after that the public is given an chance to express their opinions and USCIS will finalize the fee schedule in response to these remarks. USCIS will hold an open forum regarding the proposed fee schedule on January 11, 2023.