This week on September 29, 2020, a California district court stayed the implementation and the effective date of the final rule which adjusted the US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) fee schedule and required new versions of several forms, stating as one of the reasons that Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf was likely improperly appointed. This means that the fee increases, along with form and policy changes, will NOT take effect as scheduled on October 2, 2020. The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) confirmed because of the injunction that on October 2, 2020, applicants “are not required to submit the 10/2/20 revised versions of Forms I-129, Form I-765, Form I-912, and Forms N-600/N-600A.”

In response, USCIS stated that while the rule is preliminarily enjoined, the agency will continue to:

Accept USCIS forms with the current editions and current fees; and
Use the regulations and guidance currently in place to adjudicate applications and petitions, which includes accepting and adjudicating fee waiver requests as provided under Adjudicator's Field Manual (AFM) Chapters 10.9 and 10.10.

Additionally, USCIS Deputy Director of Policy Joseph Edlow claimed in a statement: “This unfortunate decision leaves USCIS underfunded by millions of dollars each business day the fee rule is enjoined…In a fee-funded agency such as USCIS, this increase is necessary to continue operations in any long-term, meaningful way to ensure cost recovery. This decision barring USCIS from enacting its mandatory fee increase is unprecedented and harmful to the American people.”

AILA noted that it is not clear how long the rule will remain enjoined, and that the government has up to sixty days to appeal the decision.