USCIS Fee Increases Blocked by Federal Judge

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It is hard to keep up with all of the news that is happening.  Several recent immigration stories have more or less fallen through the cracks. One such story is a judicial ruling with a positive outcome for immigrants.  The USCIS rule that included dramatic fee increases that was scheduled to take effect on October 2 was stopped by a federal judge.  U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White of the Northern District of California placed a preliminary injunction on the rule on September 29.  The injunction prevents the rule from being implemented until the legal case challenging the rule is heard in court. Judge White issued the injunction after coming to the conclusion that the legal challenge brought by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and other non-profit plaintiffs was likely to succeed on the merits and met other qualifying requirements.  Interestingly, one of the arguments brought by the plaintiffs is that the political appointments of Kevin McAleenan and Chad Wolf as acting Secretary of Homeland Security were not lawful under the Homeland Security Act and therefore could not implement the rule that increased immigration fees.  This argument could potentially be used to challenge other immigration rules that have gone in to effect under its current leadership. The now postponed rule would have increased the cost to process certain immigration forms, introduced a fee for asylum applicants, increase the cost of becoming a U.S. citizen, and increased the amount of time it takes for premium processing.  This ruling is likely to be appealed and the injunction could potentially be lifted by an appeals court. See the full news story here.  See the judge's ruling here. The Law Offices of Scott Warmuth has been helping immigrants to the United States for more than 35 years.  We offer a variety of services, including visa processing, obtaining a green card, and seeking U.S. citizenship.  We offer free initial consultations to anyone seeking immigration assistance.  Call us today at 888-517-9888 to speak with our immigration experts.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]