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01/24/2003 IMMIGRATION ALERT:
INS REDUCES IMMIGRATION FILING FEES
Effective January 24, 2003, the INS will accept a reduced filing fee for
many immigration petitions. Previously all INS filing fees contained a
surcharge for asylum and refugee services. As part of the Homeland Security
Act of 2002, Congress required the INS to eliminate the surcharge for asylum
and refugee services. It is predicted that Congress will revoke the
provision that eliminates the surcharge, thereby restoring the filing fees
to their original rate.
However, because it is currently unclear whether Congress will revoke the
provision that eliminates the surcharge, the INS has announced that it will
accept applications filed with either the original filing fees or the
reduced fees. If Congress does not revoke the provision eliminating the
surcharge, INS will issue refunds to those who filed cases under the
original fee schedule. If Congress removes the provision retroactively, INS
is not certain whether it will later need to request additional fee amounts
from those who filed cases under the new fee schedule.
For a complete listing of the new fees, visit either of the following sites:
Federal Register
Immigration & Naturalization Service
[back to main listing]
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