Summary: According to the final USCIS rule, the I-765 EAD application fee will increase from $410 to $550. This 2020 OPT fee increase will be in effect from October 2, 2020. -> As of 9/20, the US court ordered a preliminary injunction on the USCIS fee increase. Students can pay the current fee ($410).
In the review of the annual report by the Ombudsman office, it was reported that the proposal for 2020 OPT fee increase was in review. Today (7/31), USCIS announced that DHS (Department of Homeland and Security) decided to adjust “USCIS fees by a weighted average increase of 20%.” The rationale behind the increase is insufficient funds to run the organization, as 97% of the agency’s revenue comes from various application fees, unlike any other government partners. By raising a fee, USCIS and DHS are expecting “to help recover its operational costs.” The recent biennial fee review shows that current fees would leave the agency underfunded by about $1 billion per year. To administer the immigration system effectively and fairly, USCIS had to make “overdue adjustments,” according to Joseph Edlow, USCIS deputy director for policy (If you remember, he was the one who had received a letter by two Democrats who pursued him to postpone the planned furloughs!).
2020 USCIS fees that have a direct relationship to international students increased at around 10~30%, while the new citizenship application fee increased around 80%. Whether you are a college and university student with a student visa, green card, or US citizenship, the table below will tell you how much the fee increased for the immigration services that you might need in the future. The whole list of immigration benefit requests can be found here.
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COVID-19 and online filing
One of the changes that COVID-19 brought is that online services are highly recommended and USCIS is no exception. USCIS encourages “online filing by providing a $10 reduction in the fee for applicants who submit forms online that are electronically available from USCIS”. It is worth noting, however, that not all of the applications are available online. For example, Form I-765, Application for the Employment Authorization Document cannot be submitted online.
Amongst immigration applications that are available online, international students who seek to change their immigration status within the United States can save $10 by initiating the Form I-539 online processing. If you are a J-1 or F-2 holder and if you would like to change it to F-1 to study full time in American higher education institutions, you can submit the form I-539 online.
Interestingly, it is worth mentioning that the application fee for N-400 Application for Naturalization increased by approximately 80%, from $640 to $1,160. Compare to the fact that the application fee for the N-565 Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document decreased by 10~20%, the high increase of application fee for U.S. citizenships well illustrates the Trump Administration’s America First policy.
| Immigration Benefit Request | Current fee | Online filing final fee | Paper filing final fee |
| I-90 Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card | $455 | $405 | $415 |
| I-130 Petition for Alien Relative | $535 | $550 | $560 |
| I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status | $370 | $390 | $400 |
| N-400 Application for Naturalization | $640 | $1,160 | $1,170 |
| N-565 Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document | $555 | $535 | $545 |
| N-600 Application for Certificate of Citizenship | $1,170 | $990 | $1,000 |
| N-600K Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate | $1,170 | $935 | $945 |
This final rule also encourages online filing by providing a $10 reduction in the fee for applicants who submit forms online that are electronically available from USCIS. Online filing is the most secure, efficient, cost-effective and convenient way to submit a request with USCIS.
JOSEPH ELDOW
Who will be eligible for paying the before-increase fees?
| Immigration Benefit Request | Current fee | Final Fee | PercentageChange |
| I-765 Application for Employment Authorization (Non-DACA) | $410 | $550 | 34% |
| I-765 Application for Employment Authorization (DACA only) | $410 | $410 | 0% |
In terms of the post-completion OPT, an applicant can file the application as early as 90 days prior to the program end date that is written in the Form I-20 to 60 days after the program end date. Since USCIS’s processing time has been delayed due to many reasons, I have encouraged students to apply as early as possible (please refer to related posts for more information on USCIS processing time). If you are graduating this August and if you haven’t applied for OPT, you might want to apply for OPT before October 2 to save $140.
Related blog post 1: EAD card production delay due to USCIS printing issues
Related blog post 2: Would delayed USCIS furloughs shorten the EAD processing time 2020?
For students who are planning to apply for OPT after Fall 2020, you should check when is the graduation date (program end date). Below is the breakdown of when the fee is going to be effective and when you can file the OPT at the earliest.
- The USCIS fee increase is effective from October 2, 2020
- 90 days after October 1, 2020, is December 30, 2020 (*Calculated based on the Date Calculator)
- The bottom line appears that if your graduation date is before December 30th AND you apply for OPT by October 1st, applicants can file with $410 worth check.
There are some students who need to take winter sessions before they graduate. In this scenario, OPT applicants will have to include $550 worth check into the OPT packet, along with other required documents.
When it comes to an F-1 student who is currently participating in initial OPT and planning to apply for STEM OPT, he/ she needs to check the initial OPT end date. Students who are in OPT can file the STEM OPT application as early as 90 days before the OPT end date. Like initial OPT applicant, if you do the math (which I did below), it can be concluded that if your initial OPT ends on December 30th or before AND apply for STEM OPT extension by October 1st, you can file the application with the current fee amount ($410).
- The USCIS fee increase is effective from October 2, 2020
- 90 days after October 1, 2020, is December 30, 2020 (*Calculated based on the Date Calculator)
- The bottom line appears that if your initial OPT end date is before December 30th AND you apply for STEM OPT extension by October 1st, applicants can file with $410 worth check.
In this blog post, 2020 OPT fee increase, along with other immigration-related application fee increases is introduced. More OPT-related blog posts will be covered so make sure you subscribe to our newsletter and follow us in social media (Facebook; @sevissavvyfb, Instagram; @sevissavvy)!
The most recent OPT updates and news about the EAD card processing can be found on the OPT page. For STEM OPT information, click the STEM OPT page.
