At a glance
- A final DHS fee regulation that would increase the filing fees for many immigration benefit filings has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review.
- The new fee regulation is expected to increase and create separate fees for H-1B, L-1, and other nonimmigrant case types, increase the H-1B cap registration fee, impose an additional fee on Forms I-129 and I-140, increase premium processing timelines, and unbundle adjustment of status and ancillary benefit fees, among other measures.
- The final regulation is slated to be published in April 2024, but could be finalized earlier.
The issue
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has submitted for federal review a final regulation that is expected to increase filing costs for many immigration benefit petitioners and applicants, and particularly steeply for employment-based petitioners. The final regulation is now under review at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), bringing the regulation closer to publication and implementation.
According to the agency’s most recent regulatory agenda, publication of the final regulation in the Federal Register is scheduled for April 2024, but the date of publication will depend on the speed of the federal review.
DHS accepted public comments on the proposed version of this fee rule from early January 2023 to early March 2023. The specific contents of the final regulation are not yet known and will remain so until the rule is released for publication in the Federal Register. However, the proposed rule provides some indication of the changes likely to be included in the final version.
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