USCIS updated guidance in its Policy Manual to address fees not eligible for fee waivers in accordance with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R.-1) and applicable dates for determining the fees and filing deadlines for benefit requests.
Policy Highlights
- Explains that USCIS cannot waive any fees required by H.R.-1 and that USCIS rejects any form postmarked or electronically filed on or after August 21, 2025, without the fees required by H.R.-1.
- Explains the remaining availability of fee waivers for fees already established by DHS.
- Affirms that for benefit requests sent through USPS, USCIS uses the postmark date to determine the correct form version and filing fees only.
- Affirms that, for benefit requests sent through commercial couriers, USCIS uses the shipping label date to determine the correct form version and filing fees only. If the label does not have a shipping date, USCIS uses the label’s print date; if the label does not have a date, USCIS assumes that the postmark date is 10 days before USCIS received the package.
- Affirms that, for benefit requests sent by mail, USCIS uses the actual date a benefit request is received at a USCIS lockbox or facility as the received date for any regulatory or statutory filing deadlines, including to determine a priority date, if applicable.
- Affirms that for benefit requests filed online, USCIS considers the date the benefit request is completed and submitted through myUSCIS as the date of submission and as the received date for purposes of determining proper fees and any regulatory or statutory filing deadlines.
Effective date: The guidance is effective 7/22/25
Link: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-manual-updates/20250821-SubmissionOfFees.pdf
