The new year often brings new laws as Congress gets back to work after the winter break. In this current administration, the focus has long been on immigration and making changes to the system, so it is no surprise that the new year will bring some possible changes in this area. Mainly workers and employers of immigrants in Colorado may feel the effect of these changes, but others are touched by them, too.
Forbes explains there is a new law proposal to increase the fees for work visas and to employers of immigrants on the table for consideration. There are also changes to citizenship and permanent resident application fees and premium processing.
Visa fee changes
Many work visa applicants will see major increases in costs. The highest increase will be for L-1 visas at a 77% increase. Visas for highly skilled workers will also see increases by over 50%. These include O visas with a 55% increase and TN, E, P, Q, R and H-3 visas at a 53% increase. H-1B workers will see a 22% increase.
Employers will pay more for H-2A and H-2B visa workers. Plus, the application limit will decrease from more than 100 workers to only 25 workers per application. Businesses with more than 50 employees on L-1 or H-1B visas may see a fee increase of 100% or more.
Other changes
Premium processing will not see fee changes, but the time limit changes from 15 calendar days to 15 business days, making the process longer. Permanent residence applications will increase in cost by at least 75%, with U.S. citizen application fees increasing more than 80%. Asylum seekers who want work authorization currently pay nothing, but the new law seeks to add a fee.
These changes are rather drastic since fee changes often jump by 50% or more. It can have a huge impact on the employment of immigrants and the others who will see fee increases.