Fees for filing immigration documents going up

Mitchell Hartman Dec 23, 2016
HTML EMBED:
COPY
A line forms near the entrance of the Immigration and Naturalization Service office in Miami. RHONA WISE/AFP/Getty Images

Fees for filing immigration documents going up

Mitchell Hartman Dec 23, 2016
A line forms near the entrance of the Immigration and Naturalization Service office in Miami. RHONA WISE/AFP/Getty Images
HTML EMBED:
COPY

If you’re an immigrant, and you need to file one of the government forms required for work permission, or to get a travel document, or for an “immigrant investor” visa, you’re facing some higher costs as of  Friday.

For the first time in six years, application and petition fees charged by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services — under the Department of Homeland Security — are going up. With the fee hikes, the naturalization application will now cost $640, an increase of $45. 

The “Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur” — to come live and invest in the U.S. — will double to more than $3,600. The government cites rising costs for fraud detection, national security and customer service as the reason for the increases, which average 21 percent.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.