Miami Herald: “Here are five USCIS changes that will impact legal immigrants in the U.S. in 2020”

US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), under the direction of the Trump administration, proposed a number of key immigration changes in 2018 and 2019, some of which are likely to go into effect this year. These changes, many designed to slow or complicate legal immigration, could have a significant impact on the lives of millions of immigrants in the US. Here are some changes to look out for in 2020:

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USCIS Will Increase Premium Processing Fee Effective October 1, 2018

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced last week that effective October 1, 2018, the agency is increasing the premium processing fee for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, from the current amount of $1,225 to $1,410, a nearly fifteen percent increase.  With this fee increase, which is in accordance to the percentage change in inflation since the fee was last increased in 2010 based on the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers, USCIS claims they can “more effectively adjudicate petitions and maintain effective service to petitioners.” 

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USCIS Does It Again....

It's that time all immigration attorneys have been dreading.  No, no, not a Trump presidency, but rather US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) increasing their fees. In all fairness, it has been over six years since the last fee increase and USCIS is almost entirely funded by fees paid by applicants and petitioners for their immigration applications.

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