USCIS Receipt Notice Delays Persist

On April 1, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began implementing a newly overhauled fee schedule, along with substantive changes to several of its forms used to petition or apply for employment-based immigration benefits. These changes stem from the agency's January 2024 final rule outlining the fee increases and procedural changes, which include:

1. In a departure from the prior, simpler fee schedule, a detailed and tiered fee schedule based on various factors, including visa type, employer type, and size (number of employees).
2. The introduction of an "asylum fee," which now applies to most employment-based filings made on Forms I-129 or I-140 and is meant to support the agency's efforts in improving its processing of a historic backlog of asylum applications. The asylum fee also varies depending on visa type and employer type/size, further adding to the confluence of new factors practitioners must take into account when filing a U.S.