Beginning on February 1, 2013, USCIS will be collecting a new immigrant fee of $165 from foreign nationals seeking permanent residence and who consular process their immigrant visa petition at a U.S. consulate abroad. The rationale is that the fee will be used to recover the cost of processing and delivering the permanent resident green card in the United States after the immigrant visa holder receives his or her visa package from DOS. The new fee is in addition to fees currently charged by DOS associated with an individual’s immigrant visa application. More specific guidelines will be provided on how and when the applicant will make payment online.
