Friday, July 21, 2020 – USCIS announced filing fees will be adjusted Oct. 2, 2020 to cover the cost of services. Any application, petition, or request postmarked on or after this date must include payment of the new, correct fees established by this final rule.
The specific EB-5 fee changes are as follows:
· I-526: $4,010 (up from $3,675);
· I-829: $3,900 (up from $3,750);
· I-924: $17,795 (unchanged);
· I-924A: $4,465 (up from $3,035);
USCIS is fee funded and passes on very little of their operational cost to US taxpayers. Fees collected and deposited fund nearly 97% of USCIS’ budget. USCIS reviews their fees on a biennial basis to ensure they are fully funded, last adjusting fees in December 2016. USCIS estimates their current fees leave the agency underfunded by about $1 billion per year.
In May, USCIS projected a massive budget shortfall for 2020 due to COVID-19 revenue losses and requested over a billion dollars from Congress. When funds were not granted, USCIS issued furlough notices to employees. They have delayed furloughs for 13,400 of their employees from August 1st to August 30th due to “recent assurances from Congress, and an uptick in application and petition receipts”, stated USCIS spokeswoman, Jessica Collins. It is unclear how furloughs will impact the already slow EB-5 processing times. Read more here.