US Visa Fees Likely To Go Up

USCIS will begin attaching a 10% surcharge to application fees, the Wall Street Journal reported. In March, the agency closed its offices and suspended much of its normal work due to Covid-19. It plans to reopen offices from June 4 and the agency has requested $1.2 billion in emergency funding from Congress, according to a report.

Last month, USCIS said it has reached Congressionally-mandated 65k H-1B visa cap for the fiscal year 2020. This is the 1st season of H-1B petitions after the USCIS announced enforcing new rules for the most sought-after US work visa applications for foreign professionals.

Last year, the USCIS received 190,000 cap-subjected H-1B petitions.

On March 18, USCIS had temporarily suspended in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices, and application support centers (ASCs) to combat the spread of COVID-19.

On April 24, the US agency said that it is readying offices to reopen on or after June 4. Employees in these offices are continuing to perform mission-essential services that do not require face-to-face contact with the public while the offices are closed.

While offices are closed, USCIS will continue to provide limited emergency in-person services. It has asked applicants to call its Contact Center for assistance with emergency services.