USCIS Fee Hikes Are Enjoined (Halted)

[laylalex 7,284]

13 hours ago, Zoeeeeeee said:

That sounds so perfect and intimate! Where in Burbank are they? I lived on North Griffith Park Drive, near Chandler bike path - I really liked it there 💕.

 

We technically had a cere-mini (just us and our officiant, over dinner - but it wasn't really a ceremony, as we didn't do vows or anything...just paperwork)...then we had the wedding at the Inn of The Seventh Ray in Topanga Canyon (if you don't have a venue picked out for 2022 yet, I couldn't recommend the inn more, it was perfect).

 

We also had an open bar party at Karl Strauss in DTLA the following day, cause we kept our wedding to 70 people, so there was a bunch that we wanted to invite and didn't...so they all came to the afterparty. I now realise how much I miss Karl Strauss. Or Golden Road. Or Angel City. Or basically any brewery 😩😩😩😩.

I know EXACTLY where you lived! How funny. My parents are in the streets above Burbank Town Center, between Kenneth and Sunset Canyon, near the Castaway if you know where that is. We moved there when I was 5, we were down in North Hollywood before then but I have pretty much zero memories of it.

 

And YES I know the Inn of the Seventh Ray -- it is SO romantic. I haven't been since I moved back down here. Perfect place for a wedding. ❤️ Of course if you watch Vanderpump Rules, you know that where Brittany and Jax had their engagement party... not that I watch VPR.

 

Oh god I miss Golden Road and Angel City.  I never made it Karl Strauss, but we did go to the Firestone Walker brewpub in MDR a few times in February. It is open now with patio seating but he is too paranoid still to do outdoor dining so it's still a no go. Sorry to everyone about all this LA stuff!

[Zoeeeeeee 797]

1 hour ago, laylalex said:

I know EXACTLY where you lived! How funny. My parents are in the streets above Burbank Town Center, between Kenneth and Sunset Canyon, near the Castaway if you know where that is. We moved there when I was 5, we were down in North Hollywood before then but I have pretty much zero memories of it.

 

And YES I know the Inn of the Seventh Ray -- it is SO romantic. I haven't been since I moved back down here. Perfect place for a wedding. ❤️ Of course if you watch Vanderpump Rules, you know that where Brittany and Jax had their engagement party... not that I watch VPR.

 

Oh god I miss Golden Road and Angel City.  I never made it Karl Strauss, but we did go to the Firestone Walker brewpub in MDR a few times in February. It is open now with patio seating but he is too paranoid still to do outdoor dining so it's still a no go. Sorry to everyone about all this LA stuff!

Ohhhh, I know that area - it's super-nice there! Your cere-mini is going to be be gorgeous 😍.

 

I prefer the KS in San Diego, cause they have a lovely outdoor area and it's their flagship location, so they have all the menu items there first for drinks and food...but the downtown one is really good too...and it's near Donut Friend 👏👏.

 

Same re outdoor dining - Golden Road is open and has that ENORMOUS patio, but they're not open to dogs currently 😩😩 - and I'm too paranoid for patio dining too (I have a bunch of auto-immune conditions). 

 

When this is over, we should totally meet up for a Pineapple Palisades at GR sometime 😍.

[pablo2752 106]

Honestly, I am not entirely against the fee hikes. What I don't like is how the naturalization fee increased by the whomping 80%. The fee increase is supposed to be overall 20% across the board, why not just increase everything by 20%? Isn't that more manageable??

[HRQX 4,145]

2 hours ago, pablo2752 said:

What I don't like is how the naturalization fee increased by the whomping 80%.

*60% ($435/$725) increase for most applicants:

On 9/29/2020 at 5:42 PM, HRQX said:

separate biometrics fee was to be eliminated for most forms: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/08/03/2020-16389/us-citizenship-and-immigration-services-fee-schedule-and-changes-to-certain-other-immigration "DHS is incorporating the biometric services cost into the underlying immigration benefit request fee instead of charging a flat $85 biometric services fee."

 

[pablo2752 106]

Still tho! 

But its nice that they are ridding of the biometric. 

[USAjune2016 101]

I suggest creating an expensive premium line for the ones that are willing to pay a lot just to skip the anxiety of the Long process. That would fund USCIS very well and help the one that are willing to wait little  longer and save some money.
A friend of mine told me he’s willing to pay an extra 5k just to skip the line  

 

It’s only a suggestion but It doesn’t mean That I’m right. it would be nice to hear your opinions. 

[Villanelle 4,122]

29 minutes ago, USAjune2016 said:

I suggest creating an expensive premium line for the ones that are willing to pay a lot just to skip the anxiety of the Long process. That would fund USCIS very well and help the one that are willing to wait little  longer and save some money.
A friend of mine told me he’s willing to pay an extra 5k just to skip the line  

 

It’s only a suggestion but It doesn’t mean That I’m right. it would be nice to hear your opinions. 

I believe for certain work visa types there is an option for the company to pay more for expedited processing. I dont know all the details but I assume it works OK because I occasionally see mention of people going through the expedited process and I cant imagine large companies would continue to pay for faster processing if it wasnt actually faster. 

 

Anyway, my biggest issue with the process is like most- the long delays. However I dont see the point of there needing to be an added cost to me (the consumer I guess?) in order to make it go faster. How about they just adjust things so the delay doesnt have any negative implications? Like specifically I have a HUGE problem with the fact that you and I can both apply for AOS on Jan 1 2020. Yours gets approved in 6 months- June 2020. You can then apply for your citizenship 3/5 yrs from that date. But my papers are being processed slower for some unknown reason. Maybe my Officer is slower, maybe my file ends up in a local office with long wait times for interviews. Heck maybe it was even my fault cause I didnt send enough stuff and got an RFE. Whatever the reason my AOS isnt approved until June 2021. So it is just not fair at all that we both applied Jan 2020 and have lived here the same amount of time yet I have to wait an additional year to become a citizen just because my papers werent completed as quickly. If they adjust stuff so that that penalty doesnt exist- then I dont care how long it takes. 

 

You can really see the issue when you look at those who came on CR vs those who came on the K. The CR becomes an LPR as soon as they enter. With in 3/5yrs they can naturalize. The K ends up having to wait 1-2 yrs on average to become an LPR and then an additional 3/5 to naturalize. Its an aspect that is rarely brought up when discussing the pros/cons of choosing between the K and the CR. 

 

They already have a system involving priority dates- they just dont mean anything to most people. They could easily change it so that their delays dont impact how long a person has to wait overall. The delays spill over into all aspects of the process. In the ROC forum you'll find people with large disparities in how long they have been married when actually filing for and getting approved for ROC. The concept of ROC was created IMO under the spirit of 'show us you can make it the first 2 yrs of your marriage and didnt just marry for the card'. People that end up waiting 1-2 yrs for their GC can then get delayed again at ROC. There are people who have been married 4-5 yrs or more still needing to prove to USCIS at 5 yrs of marriage that the first 2 years were legit. How does that make any sense? I shouldnt have to pay more to avoid this. They should just correct it so its no longer an issue.

 

 

 

[microdisney 46]

That's unfortunate. Oh well. 

[Diane and Chris 651]

On 9/30/2020 at 8:37 AM, James120383 said:

Its about time those slacker get fired though.  Just look at the processing time for the last 4 years. It smells inefficiency all the way .

I don’t understand. I looked at your timeline and your EAD was approved in 100 days. I’d say that’s pretty quick. Why are you complaining?

[Boiler 45,311]

You used to be able to get it at some POE's as a stamp, now that made sense.

[Diane and Chris 651]

22 minutes ago, Boiler said:

You used to be able to get it at some POE's as a stamp, now that made sense.

Now that would be nice!

[HRQX 4,145]

37 minutes ago, Diane and Chris said:

Now that would be nice!

It was free but only valid for the 90 days of K-1 status. "Employment Authorized: (Date)"

[Boiler 45,311]

It was for the K1 period of authorisation and you could get the adjustment one within a month or two.

[HRQX 4,145]

On 10/3/2020 at 6:57 AM, Villanelle said:

I believe for certain work visa types there is an option for the company to pay more for expedited processing. I dont know all the details but I assume it works OK because I occasionally see mention of people going through the expedited process and I cant imagine large companies would continue to pay for faster processing if it wasnt actually faster.

A recent law signed by the President expands Premium Processing but USCIS hasn't implemented it yet: https://www.natlawreview.com/article/uscis-to-expand-premium-processing-program-increase-fee-rates "it is likely that USCIS will need several weeks before the agency can implement the necessary internal changes to begin accepting premium processing requests for the expanded categories."