On September 29, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted the motion for a preliminary injunction filed by eight non profit organizations that provide a variety of “services benefitting low-income applicants for immigration benefits.”
The court orders the suspension of the implementation and the effective date of USCIS Immigration Fee Schedule and Changes to Certain Other Immigration Benefit Request Requirements, 85 Fed. Reg. 46,788 (Aug. 3, 2020) (the “Final Rule”) in its entirety pending final adjudication of this matter.
Court also ordered Defendants Wolf, in his official capacity under the title of Acting Secretary of DHS; Cuccinelli, in his official capacity under the title of Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary of DHS; DHS; and USCIS, and all persons acting under their direction, to suspend the implementation or enforcement of the Final Rule increasing the fees
This order will take effective immediately and will remain in effect pending trial of the case. On October 1, 2020, USCIS issued an update stating that while the rule is preliminarily enjoined, USCIS 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. This includes accepting and adjudicating fee waiver requests as provided under Adjudicator’s Field Manual (AFM) Chapters 10.9 and 10.10.”
