Recently the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it is introducing a standardized form to request a waiver of the processing fees associated with immigration benefits. The form, I-912, became available Nov. 23.
"Our goal is to bring clarity and consistency to immigration-benefit services," USCIS director Alejandro Mayorkas said. "The development of the new fee waiver form reflects our commitment to making improvements through extensive collaboration with the public."
According to the USCIS, the single standardized form was created to clear up "confusion about the criteria and standards used to approve waivers." The new form lists the requirements for how to document a fee waiver request and explains how the USCIS evaluates the requests.
The USCIS unveiled the new form at the same time it announced a hike in the fees for multiple immigration documents. For the second time in three years the USCIS is raising fees for most of its benefits petition, including work permits and green cards.
The biggest jump came with new green cards, which were raised to $985 (from $930). Green card renewals went from $290 to $365 and work permits from $340 to $380.
