A recent statement from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed that the $85.00 fee for biometric services will be waived.
This essentially applies to Form I-539. With his application, an applicant attempts to extend his immigration status while his permanent residence procedure is pending.
USCIS clarifies that those who wish to file their Form I-539 before October 1 must schedule and attend an appointment. The location will be the Application Support Center (ASC), where experts will be responsible for registering the applicant’s biometric services.
From this first day of October, applicants will no longer be invited to this process. This would only occur if USCIS determines that it is important to obtain specific biometric data from a migrant. If this is the case, the applicant will receive a notification to appear.
Combined costs
If an applicant accidentally submits the biometric services fee separately from the form, USCIS will refund the biometric fee and accept the petition. Experts clarify what happens when the cost of the biometric fee and the form fee are combined into a single payment. In this case, it will be considered an incorrect filing and Form I-539 will be rejected.
USCIS only charges a one-time payment when a credit card is authorized, which includes the biometric services fee and the application fee. The biometric data requirement will be suspended from September 30, 2023. In this case, these are applicants for extension of stay or change of status to H-4, L or E nonimmigrants.
USCIS reminds all applicants that biometric data is very secure. Compared to traditional passwords or ID cards, they are difficult to forge or steal. They are now used in a variety of applications, such as identifying people at airports, mobile device security and other aspects.