TAKE ACTION: Stop USCIS from increasing the price of survival
USCIS's Proposed Fee Rule Creates Barriers to Safety
The ability to gain immigration relief is a lifeline for many immigrant survivors of violence. It allows survivors to escape abuse and establish independence from perpetrators who often exploit a survivor's immigration status to exert control and intimidation. However, this pathway is inaccessible for many immigrant survivors who lack the money to pay the already steep application fees. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a proposed fee rule that will only serve to make safety even more expensive and unattainable for immigrant survivors of violence.
USCIS's proposed fee rule seeks to:
Increase fees as well as introduce new fees for many applications for immigration relief,
I-192, Application for Advance Permission to Enter as a Nonimmigrant (available to applicants for T or U nonimmigrant status): $930 → $1,415
I-929, Petition for Qualifying Family Member of a U-1 Nonimmigrant: $230 → $1,515
N-400, Application for Naturalization:$640 → $1,170
I-589: Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal: $0 → $50
DACA renewal: $0 → $275
Eliminate fee waivers for all immigration categories except those that are statutorily required (including some applications related to VAWA self-petitions and U and T visas),
Further restrict the criteria for the fee waivers that would remain available.
In addition to hiking fees and curtailing fee waivers, the proposed rule would transfer over $112 million to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It is unacceptable that USCIS seeks to fund enforcement measures by raising fees on immigrants seeking necessary and life-saving immigration benefits.
Speak out against this harmful proposed fee rule!
Submit a comment telling USCIS to withdraw the provisions in the rule that would exacerbate existing economic barriers and make it harder for immigrant survivors of domestic, sexual, and other gender-based abuses to access safety. You have until December 30.
Submit your comment today!
Our allies have developed sample templates that you can personalize to create your unique comment expressing your concerns with the proposed rule:
ASISTA Template: Tailored towards agencies that service or advocate on behalf of immigrant survivors of gender-based violence.
CLINIC Template: Tailored towards agencies that provide direct services to immigrants.
CLINIC has developed click-to-comment platforms for individuals to submit a person comment:
How to submit your comment:
Visit the government's Regulations page. Click on the blue "Comment Now!" button and copy/paste your comments in the large textbox or upload your comments as a PDF.
Remember: It is important that you submit comments in opposition to the rule that are as unique as possible by reflecting on the impact of the rule on the population you serve and your agency's mission, values, and concerns.
Instead of increasing the cost of safety, USCIS should work to ensure that vulnerable immigrants have access to immigration relief for which they are eligible and the protection that they deserve.
To learn more, see the following resources: ASISTA Informational Page, CLINIC Background Page & NALEO Factsheet