Humanitarian parole applications made eligible for hardship fee waivers

Policy effect

From November 23, 2010, applicants filing Form I-131 to request humanitarian parole could request waiver of the application fee upon showing inability to pay. The 2010 USCIS final fee rule added these requests to the fee-waiver eligibility list; it did not grant every applicant an automatic fee exemption.

Conditions and exceptions

Validated condition or limit: From November 23, 2010, applicants filing Form I-131 to request humanitarian parole could request waiver of the application fee upon showing inability to pay.; The 2010 USCIS final fee rule added these requests to the fee-waiver eligibility list; it did not grant every applicant an automatic fee exemption.

Official source excerpt

Quoted verbatim from the official source below. Ellipses indicate omitted text.

… tment of Veterans Affairs, or U.S. government facility in the United States. New 8 CFR 103.7(b)(1)(i)(SS). Reduce the fee for an Application for Travel Document, Form I-131, when it is filed to request a Refugee Travel Document. DHS has reduced the fee for an Application for Travel Document in the final rule to $135 for a Refugee Travel Document for an adult age 16 or older, and $105 for a child under the age of 16. DHS has decided also to permit the fee for an Application for Travel Document to be waived based on inability to pay when it is based on a request for Humanitarian Parole. New 8 CF … om clear economic necessity to merely choosing to provide one applicant with an advantage over another. A number of commenters suggested, however, that USCIS allow fee waiver requests for Application for Travel Document, Form I-131, in cases of humanitarian parole. DHS's experience with the 2010 Haitian earthquake relief efforts has shown that many recipients of humanitarian parole are worthy of consideration of a fee waiver. DHS agrees that some applicants could be of limited means and the fee may be particularly burdensome to this population. Thus, as suggested by the commenters, DHS has dec … ided to revise the final rule to add requests for humanitarian parole to the list of forms that are eligible for a fee waiver upon a showing of the inability to pay. See 8 CFR 103.7(c)(3)(iv). In addition, DHS encourages those who believe that they have a sufficiently sympathetic case or group of cases in any type of benefit request to submit a request to their USCIS local office for a waiver under 8 CFR 103.7(d). b. Waiver Eligibility for Notices of Appeal or Motions DHS is adding a provision to the fee for the Notice of Appeal or Motion, Form I-290B, to provide that the fee to file an appeal … person's belief that he or she is entitled to or deserving of the benefit requested, the reasons for his or her inability to pay, and evidence to support the reasons indicated. There is no appeal of the denial of a fee waiver request. (3) USCIS fees that may be waived. No fee relating to any application, petition, appeal, motion, or request made to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services may be waived except for the following: (i) Biometric Fee, (ii) Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card, (iii) Petition for a CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker, (iv) Application for Travel D … ocument when filed to request humanitarian parole, (v) Application for Advance Permission to Return to Unrelinquished Domicile, (vi) Notice of Appeal or Motion, when there is no fee for the underlying application or petition or that fee may be waived, (vii) Petition to Remove the Conditions of Residence based on marriage (Form I-751), (viii) Application for Employment Authorization, (ix) Application for Family Unity Benefits, (x) Application for Temporary Protected Status, (xi) Application for Suspension of Deportation or Special Rule Cancellation of Removal (pursuant to section 203 of Pub. L. … esignation under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, Civil Surgeon Designation, and DHS Processing of Immigrant Visa requests; and adjusts the premium processing service fee by the percentage increase in inflation according to the Consumer Price Index--Urban Consumers (CPI-U) published as of July 2010. This rule also finalizes the interim rule that established the premium processing service and fees. DATES: This rule is effective November 23, 2010. Applications or petitions mailed, postmarked, or otherwise filed on or after November 23, 2010 must include the new fee. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION …

Review method

Two separate automated exact-claim source reviews

Other United States changes operative in 2010

• 2010-01-04HIV-based inadmissibility and required immigration HIV testing removed
• 2010-01-08USCIS Guidance on Determining Employer-Employee Relationship in H-1B Petitions
• 2010-01-21Designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status
• 2010-03-15Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Aliens in the United States
• 2010-03-31Deferred Enforced Departure and Employment Authorization Extension for Liberians
• 2010-04-05incorporates the exemption for facilities in Guam, the CNMI, and the Virgin Islands from certain cost reporting criteria necessary for H-1C eligibility under sec.
• 2010-07-06Extension of the Designation of Nicaragua for Temporary Protected Status and Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization Documentation
• 2010-08-13Border Security Supplemental H-1B Nonimmigrant Fee Surcharge
• 2010-08-13Border Security Supplemental L-1 Nonimmigrant Fee Surcharge
• 2010-11-23Military members and veterans exempted from citizenship certificate application fees
• 2010-11-23Refugee travel-document application fees reduced under the 2010 USCIS fee schedule
• 2010-11-30International Adoption Simplification Act of 2010