Boston Immigration & Nationality Law

Date set for Immigration Fee increase -- apply now or pay more later!

USCIS has finally announced that the fee increase will be effective on July 30, 2007.  If you've been planning to apply for citizenship, or have a green card ($370 for the I-90 Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card) or conditional green card ($545 for the I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence) that's going to expire, you should think about sending in your forms before the effective date.

Since this is an expansive raise, if you're planning to file anything with USCIS, consult with an attorney to find out whether you can avoid the new fees by seeing if you qualify to file at this time.

And if you've been thinking about naturalization... get started now! Not just because if you wait, you'll be paying $675 instead of $400, but because if an emergency arises in your home country, and you have to return for a lengthy period, you  may find it difficult or impossible to return to the United States. It happens more often than you'd think.

Legalization in the Senate...

The Senate and the President have reached an agreement on a legalization plan. This is just the beginning of the road, as the plan has to get the approval of the House of Representatives. The plan is not as inclusive as we'd hope, but it will provide a path to legalization for many of the undocumented immigrants already in the United States, while at the same time changing and eliminating some of the current ways to achieve permanent residence. Watch this space for more details; meanwhile, here's a link to the White House fact sheet.

245i: watch out!

I was giving consultations at an immigration clinic in Boston recently, and met a Brazilian whose employer had filed a labor certification for him under the 245i Legalization program of 2000-2001.  The initial paperwork was filed prior to April 30, 2001, but the original employer was no longer in business, and the man wanted to know what options were available to him.

Some background: in many cases, beneficiaries of petitions filed under 245i can file in another category. For example, if the immigrant was the beneficiary of a 245i qualifying petition filed by his sister who was a U.S. Citizen,   then he'd have a wait of around 12 years, judging by the most recent  visa bulletin... or longer, if he were from Mexico or the Philippines.  However, if there were another, quicker way available, then the immigrant could be "grandfathered" by virtue of the old petition (that is, file a new petition but keep the 245i benefit of being allowed to adjust status here in the United States.)

To do so, though, you need to be able to show USCIS that your petition was "approvable when filed." If not,  you won't be able to benefit from the original petition, and you won't be able to take advantage of the grandfathering, either.

In the case I saw, the potential beneficiary didn't have the required job experience for the job at the time then application was filed, and so wouldn't have qualified for the green card in the first place.  Again, if you are a potential beneficiary under 245i, make sure that you were qualified for the benefit as of the date of filing, before moving forward.

Proposed fee increases

So, USCIS wants to increase its fees. USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez says, "As always, we will continue to work to build an immigration system for the 21^st century, keeping America's doors open, but well guarded." Well, at these prices, they can certainly afford to do so...

Some of the proposed changes:

I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status) from $325 to $905
I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) from $190 to $355
I-140 (Petition for Immigrant Worker) from $195 to $475
I-129 (Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker) from $190 to $320
N-400 (Application for Naturalization) from $330 to $595