Attorney Carlos E. Sandoval Raises Awareness About Form Filing Fee Increase for Immigration Applications

Attorney Carlos E. Sandoval, founder of Carlos E. Sandoval, P.A., a fully bilingual law firm that focuses on immigration, is raising awareness about the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) increase to the filing fees for most immigration applications and petitions. Forms affected by this fee increase include inadmissibility waivers, which will go from $585 to $930, fiance petitions, which will go from $340 to $535, and applications for travel documents, which will go from $360 to $575. Other popular applications include adjustments of status, petitions for alien relatives, application to replace permanent resident card and applications for naturalization.

“I am helping to get the word out about these increases because, on average, application fees will go up 21 percent,” said Sandoval. “It’s also important to note that the fee increase will be effective 60 days after October 24, 2016, so people who want to file an application with the lower fees have to have their applications ready to be filed before the 60 days.”

Sandoval explains, “USCIS claims that the reason for the fee increase is that it will have to face a shortfall of $560 million if it doesn’t increase the fee. They believe that the fee increase would help the agency hire more immigration officers needed to reduce case backlogs and improve case processing." People who will be affected by these increases need to keep in mind that most immigration benefits allow for a fee waiver, and should consult with an experienced immigration attorney to evaluate whether they qualify for a fee waiver.

For more information about the fee schedule, please visit https://www.uscis.gov/forms/our-fees.

About Carlos E. Sandoval, Attorney at Law 
Carlos E. Sandoval is a member of the Florida Bar, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Broward County Hispanic Bar Association and the Broward County Bar Association. Carlos, who speaks fluent English and Spanish, is licensed to practice law by the Florida Supreme Court and the Federal Court for the Southern District of Florida. He focuses his practice in all areas of immigration, naturalization and removal. For more information or a consultation, call (954) 306-6921, or visit http://www.carlosesandoval.com. The law office is located at 450 N. Park Road, Suite 803, Hollywood, FL 33021.

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