This article was prepared with the assistance of ABIL, the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers, of which Loan Huynh, Fredrikson Immigration Department Chair, is a member.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is extending and expanding previously announced fee exemptions and expedited application processing for certain Afghan nationals through September 30, 2023.
Fee exemptions include:
- An initial or replacement Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, for Afghan nationals who are applying for work authorization on the basis of parole (eligibility category (c)(11));
- Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, to adjust status on the basis of Afghan special immigrant classification, and any associated Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility;
- Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, filed with USCIS in the United States on behalf of any Afghan national (beneficiary) with a visa immediately available;
- Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition, for an Afghan holding a Special Immigrant Visa;
- Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, for any Afghan national with an approved Form I-130 with a visa immediately available; and
- USCIS Immigrant Fee (Form I-551) for Afghan nationals.
Expedited processing includes:
- An initial and replacement Form I-765 for those applying for employment authorization on the basis of parole (eligibility category (c)(11));
- Form I-485 for Afghan nationals seeking to adjust status on the basis of Afghan special immigrant classification, and any associated Form I-601;
- Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, filed by certain Afghan parolees as described in § 2502(a) of the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act of 2021;
- Form I-130, filed with USCIS in the United States on behalf of an Afghan national (beneficiary) with a visa immediately available, and any associated Form I-601; and
- Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, filed with USCIS on behalf of an Afghan national (beneficiary) with a visa immediately available.
