USCIS Launches New Online Fee Calculator
USCIS Launches New Online Fee Calculator U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has launched the Online Fee Calculator to assist in calculating the correct fee amount to include when filing forms with USCIS at an agency Lockbox facility.
USCIS said it developed the new Online Fee Calculator to help reduce the number of applications rejected due to incorrect fee amounts. Fee issues, including incorrect fee amounts, are consistently a leading cause of rejection. For applications that require fees, USCIS rejects forms submitted with an incorrect payment amount. The Online Fee Calculator will determine the exact filing and biometric fees to include with forms and “will always have the most up-to-date fee information,” the agency said.
When using the Online Fee Calculator, filers select a form or combination of forms and answer a series of questions. The calculator then calculates the correct fee amount that the filer must submit.
USCIS said the Online Fee Calculator works on all browsers and on both desktop and mobile devices. To protect privacy, the agency noted, “it does not collect user data.”
For forms filed at Lockbox facilities, USCIS accepts payment via check, money order, or credit card with Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions.
The Online Fee Calculator is at https://www.uscis.gov/feecalculator. The USCIS announcement is at https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/new-uscis-tool-calculates-fees-helps-avoidincorrect-payments. For more information on payment, see the USCIS webpage on paying USCIS fees at https://www.uscis.gov/forms/paying-uscis-fees. G-1450 is available at https://www.uscis.gov/g-1450.
***
USCIS Terminates Categorical Parole Programs for Certain Individuals Present in CNMI
Effective immediately, the categorical Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) parole programs are terminated. This affects USCIS parole programs for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and certain stateless individuals in CNMI; CNMI permanent residents, immediate relatives of CNMI permanent residents, and immediate relatives of citizens of the Freely Associated States (Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, or Palau); and certain in-home foreign worker caregivers of CNMI residents.
After any parole authorized through these programs expires, USCIS will not renew that parole. Although USCIS will not otherwise authorize re-parole under these programs, it will allow a transitional parole period and extension of employment authorization (if applicable) for up to 180 days for affected individuals, with parole not extending beyond June 29, 2019. The transitional parole period of up to 180 days “will help ensure an orderly wind-down of the programs and provide an opportunity for individuals to prepare to depart or seek another lawful status,” USCIS said.
Current parolees who have requested an extension of parole from USCIS will receive a letter granting an additional 180 days of transitional parole, unless there is a specific reason to deny the request as determined on a case-by-case basis, USCIS said. For those parolees with an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) expiring at the same time as their parole, that letter and the EAD will serve as evidence of identity and work authorization for employment eligibility verification (Form I-9) purposes during the 180-day period.
USCIS will also issue a new EAD valid for the duration of the re-parole period to those parolees who request an extension of parole. The new EAD will be issued automatically upon approval for the period of re-parole, and no new employment authorization application or fee will be required, the agency said. Current parolees with upcoming expiration dates who have not yet requested an extension of parole, and who desire to receive the additional period of transitional parole, should request such transitional parole “as soon as possible.”
The USCIS announcement is at https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/termination-categoricalparole-programs-certain-individuals-present-commonwealth-northern-mariana-islands-cnmi. Information on eligibility requirements and how to complete a request is available at https://www.uscis.gov/laws/immigration-commonwealth-northern-mariana-islands-cnmi/paroleimmediate-relatives-us-citizens-and-certain-stateless-individuals.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk.