DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas | Photo by DHS/Sydney Phoenix via Wikimedia Commons
NEW YORK – The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has revised several forms to ensure accurate and efficient processing of applications. Here are some of them:
Fee Adjustments: On January 31, 2024, the USCIS published a final rule that adjusted certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees. This was the first fee adjustment since 2016. The purpose of these fee changes is to fully recover operating costs and support the timely processing of new applications.
Form Edition Updates: USCIS periodically updates the editions of immigration forms. Using the correct form edition is crucial to avoid rejection. As of April 1, 2024, USCIS accepts only the 04/01/24 edition of specific forms, including:
- Form I-129 (Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker)
- Form I-129CW (Petition for a CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker)
- Form I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers)
- Form I-600A (Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition) and its Supplements 1, 2, and 3
- Form I-600 (Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative) and its Supplements 1, 2, and 3 There is no grace period, and USCIS will reject forms filed using older editions.
Additional Fees: Employers filing Form I-129 or Form I-140 should know that the form fee may not represent the total filing costs. Additional fees, such as the new Asylum Program Fee, apply. This fee is an extra $600 for employers, while companies with 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees pay $300. Nonprofits are exempt from the Asylum Program Fee.
Third Gender Option
Another form is N-400, “Application for Naturalization,” which provides a third gender option, “X,” defined as “Another Gender Identity.” According to USCIS, the 04/01/24 edition of the form will be the first USCIS form to include the X gender option. Applicants filing this edition of Form N-400 on or after April 1, 2024, will have X immediately available as a gender option.
Applicants who have a pending Form N-400 using the edition in effect before April 1, 2024, may also request to update their gender on or after April 1, 2024. For all other forms, individuals must wait until USCIS revises them to include the X gender option.
Form N-400 is the only USCIS form that offers the X gender option at this time. USCIS said until they complete additional form revisions that add the X gender option, naturalization certificates are the only USCIS-issued secure identity documents that can reflect the gender X. The X gender option is not yet available on Form N-565.
If you have other benefit requests pending with USCIS and would like to choose X as your gender, or if you would like to change your existing USCIS-issued secure identity documents to reflect X as your gender, you must wait until we update the relevant forms before you may do so. Once USCIS updates additional forms to offer the X gender option, benefit requestors may follow the Updating or Correcting Your Documents webpage instructions to select the X gender option.
Supporting Documentation Not Needed
You do not need to provide supporting documentation to select X as your gender initially or to change your gender selection for Form N-400. The gender you choose does not need to match the gender listed on your other immigration documents or on supporting identity documents, such as your birth certificate, passport, or state identification.
Social Security Card
Note that if you select the X gender option on the new Form N-400, you may need to visit a Social Security office for a Social Security card or to update your citizenship status. The Social Security Administration is still developing systems to accept the X gender option.
The USCIS said these revisions aim to streamline processes, maintain accuracy, and adapt to changing circumstances in the immigration system.
–Jay Domingo/PDM
