In recent comments
to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), ACE and seven other
higher education associations warned that the Trump administration’s proposed
increases in immigration fees would “reinforce a troubling message” that the
United States no longer welcomes members of the international community to
American campuses.
The increases, published in the
Nov. 14, 2019 Federal
Register, would affect a range of non-immigrant and immigrant
visa applications, including the fee to renew Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals (DACA) status. A USCIS press
release says the new fees will ensure that applicants are covering the
“true cost” of processing, including “in-depth screening.”
While the associations support
efforts to process requests more quickly, they believe the proposed increases “are
excessive, burdensome, and will adversely impact students, faculty, and
institutions of higher education.” Overall, visa fees would increase by 21
percent, “without any evidence that the additional revenue generated will be
used to reverse the ongoing slowdown in processing.”
Along with the broader shift in
tone and other visa-related policies proposed by the administration, the groups
believe that the fee increases will exacerbate a downward trend in
international student enrollment.
Among the specific concerns:
Increased fees for renewing DACA: The plan increases DACA renewal fees by $275 and the fee for DACA employment authorization by $80, making the total amount for a DACA renewal $765, a 55 percent increase.
Optional practical training
(OPT) application fee increase: The plan imposes a 20 percent increase—to
$490—for the I-765 application for international students applying for OPT. Combined
with the increase in OPT processing time—which has risen from three months to
five months in recent months—there is concern that international students will
be forced to delay employment offers or give up and return to their home
countries without completing OPT.
The proposed rule also includes
an 8 percent increase for I-539 Applications to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant
Status and makes changes to and increases the fee for I-129 Petitions for
Nonimmigrant Worker for H-1Bs, two forms used by highly skilled workers.
The transfer of funds from
the Immigrations Examinations Fee Account to U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE): The proposed rule would transfer $207.6 million in USCIS
funds to ICE. As the associations write, the purpose of USCIS is to provide
immigration adjudication and naturalization services, not enforcement.
Extended premium processing
time: Under the proposed rule, the length for premium processing would be extended
from “15 days” to “15 business days,” which is likely to increase the
processing time from approximately two weeks to approximately three weeks. More
and more institutions, as well as international scholars and faculty, now
depend on premium processing given the delays with normal processing times.
The increases are slated to go
into effect later this year.