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USCIS Alert: Separate Checks!

February 25, 2022 (1 min read)

USCIS, Feb. 25, 2022

"For all H-1B and H-1B1 petitions received on or after April 1, 2022, USCIS will no longer accept a single, combined fee payment when Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status; Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization; or Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition, is filed together with an H-1B or H-1B1 petition (Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker).

For all H-1B and H-1B1 petitions received on or after April 1, 2022, USCIS will no longer accept a single, combined fee payment when Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status; Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization; or Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition, is filed together with an H-1B or H-1B1 petition (Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker). Each of these forms received by USCIS on or after April 1 must have its own fee payment instrument or we will reject the entire package. Only the fee for Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, may be combined with the fee for a concurrently filed Form I-129 requesting H-1B classification. 

USCIS is transitioning to electronic processing of immigration benefit requests. As we complete this transition, USCIS will be using multiple systems to receipt and process various types of immigration benefit requests. Because H-1B and H-1B1 petitions and related applications are not all processed in the same system, USCIS requires a separate payment instrument for each of these forms. USCIS acknowledges that using multiple checks or payments for H-1B and H-1B1 petitions and related applications is more burdensome than using one payment. USCIS is always analyzing its forms, practices, and policies to streamline filing and reduce, minimize and control burdens to submit requests.  However, USCIS believes that the advantages of electronic processing to both the agency and to the public outweigh the minor impacts of submitting individual fee payments."

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