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On January 4, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM or proposed rule) 88 FR 402 that proposed to adjust the fees charged by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for immigration and naturalization benefit requests. On August 3, 2020, DHS adjusted the fees USCIS charges for immigration and naturalization benefit requests, imposed new fees, revised certain fee waiver and exemption policies, and changed certain application requirements via the rule "USCIS Fee Schedule & Changes to Certain Other Immigration Benefit Request Requirements." DHS has been preliminarily enjoined from implementing that rule by court order. This rule would rescind and replace the changes made by the August 3, 2020, rule and establish new USCIS fees to recover USCIS operating costs. DHS solicited public comment on the NPRM, which DHS intends to consider and address in a final rule.

Statement of Need:

USCIS projects that its costs of providing immigration adjudication and naturalization services will exceed the financial resources available to it under its existing fee structure. DHS proposes to adjust the USCIS fee structure to ensure that USCIS recovers the costs of meeting its operational requirements.

The CFO Act requires each agency’s chief financial officer to "review, on a biennial basis, the fees, royalties, rents, and other charges imposed by the agency for services and things of value it provides, and make recommendations on revising those charges to reflect costs incurred by it in providing those services and things of value."

Summary of the Legal Basis:

INA 286(m) and (n), 8 U.S.C. 1356(m) and (n), authorize the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security to recover the full cost of providing immigration adjudication and naturalization services by establishing and collecting fees deposited into the Immigration Examinations Fee Account.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

In the published proposed rule, DHS estimated the annualized net costs to the public would be $532,379,138 discounted at 3-and 7-percent. Fee increases and other changes in this proposed rule would result in annualized transfer payments from applicants/petitioners to USCIS of approximately $1,612,127,862 discounted at both 3-percent and 7-percent. Fee reductions and exemptions in this proposed rule would result in annualized transfer payments from USCIS to applicants/petitioners of approximately $116,372,429 discounted at both 3-percent and 7-percent. The annualized transfer payments from the Department of Defense (DoD) to USCIS would be approximately $222,145 at both 3- and 7-percent discount rates. DHS is currently considering the specific impacts of the final rule's provisions.