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New consular fees went into effect yesterday. The fees were increased in an effort to cover operational expenses for 301 overseas posts, 23 domestic passport agencies and other centers that provide consular services. Under the new fee schedule, passport and other Consular fees are as follows:

NEW CONSULAR FEES EFFECTIVE JULY 13, 2010

Non-Immigrant Visa Fees
Nonimmigrant Visa Application - $140.00
1. H,L,O,P,Q and R Categories - $150.00
2. E Visas - $390.00
3. K Visa - $350.00
4. BCC Adult - $140.00
Immigrant Visa Fees
IV Application Processing Fee
1. Family-based immigrant visa - $330.00
2. Employment-based immigrant visa - $720.00
3. Other immigrant visas - $305.00
IV Security Surcharge - $74.00
Diversity Visa Lottery Surcharge - $440.00
Domestic Review of Affidavit of Support - $88.00
Determining Returning Resident Status - $380.00
Passport Fees
Passport Book – adult : $135.00
Passport Book – minor : $105.00
Passport Book Renewal – adult : $110.00
Additional Passport Visa Pages : $82.00
Passport Card – adult : $55.00
Passport Card – child : $40.00
Consular Report of Birth Abroad : $100.00
Renunciation of U.S. Citizenship: $450.00
File Search and Verification of U.S. Citizenship : $150.00

Please bear in mind that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has also submitted a proposal to increase application and petition fees. Therefore, it is very important to contact an immigration attorney regarding any applications or petitions filed and pending.

Due to the current conditions created by Tropical Storm Agatha, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has made some immigration benefits available to Guatemalan Nationals upon request.

Temporary relief measures include the following:

Grant of an application to change or extend non immigrant status even if the request filed after the Guatemalan national’s authorized period of stay has expired;

Re-parole of individuals granted parole by USCIS;

Extension of certain grants of advance parole, expedited processing of advance parole requests;

Expedited processing of immigrant petitions for immediate relative(s) of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs); and

Expedited issuance of employment authorization where appropriate.

At the Visa Lawyer Group, our attorneys always remain current on developing stories and their impact on immigration laws. We are an immigration law firm that provides legal assistance to clients around the world. Our immigration lawyers can be contacted to work on a variety of immigration related issues. For more information please schedule a free consultation, email us at info@visalawyergroup.com or call us at (845) 353-3500.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service plans on closing a $200 million dollar deficit by raising the filing fees for various immigrant and non-immigrant visa applications by an average of 10%. The only application that will not have its fees increased in the Naturalization application which is already at $675.00. Department of Homeland Security is considering increasing the applications fees for green cards from $930.00 to $985.00. The fees for a family based visa petition (I-130) will rise from $355.00 to $420.00. USCIS is considering adding new fees to the already fee heavy immigration process for immigrant investors, civil surgeons and to consular processing. Some visa petitioners will see relief in the form of reduction in fees for fiancé visa petition from $455.00 to $340.00. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency responsible for visa processing, is required to be self-sufficient and thus relies on application fees for 90% of its budget. USCIS urges the public to weigh in on the proposal at http://www.regulations.gov. The comment period runs Friday through July 26.

At the Visa Lawyer Group, our attorneys always remain current on developing stories and their impact on immigration laws. We are an immigration law firm that provides legal assistance to clients around the world. Our immigration lawyers can be contacted to work on a variety of immigration related issues. For more information please schedule a free consultation, email us at info@visalawyergroup.com or call us at (845) 353-3500.

In an effort to deter immigration fraud, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has revised the Employment Authorization Document or EAD. The new version incorporates a machine-readable zone on the back of the card.

USCIS began issuing the new cards on May 11, 2010. The machine-readable zone is compliant with International Civil Aviation Organization standards. The service has also removed the two-dimensional bar code on the back of the card and moved the informational text beneath the magnetic strip. The revised card continues to retain its existing security features.

Click here to view the new cards.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will transition the intake function of several of its forms from the Service Centers to a Lockbox network. USCIS has decided to centralize its form and fee intake which it hopes will improve efficiency in the initial process.

The current forms scheduled for this transition include:
I-817, Application for Family Unity Benefit
I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur
I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status
I-129F, Petition for Alien Relative Fiance
I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker

The transition period started in the middle of last month with the Service Centers forwarding applications to the USCIS Dallas and Phoenix Lockbox for processing. Later on this month, USCIS will post the revised filing instructions, update the web page for each form, and announce the address change.

Please refer back to this site for the most updated information and resources related to U.S. immigration law.