U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced the exemption of the biometric services fee as part of the application requirements for Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, beginning Oct. 1.

Background

On April 19, USCIS announced that the agency was extending temporary suspension of the biometrics submission requirements for certain applicants filing Form I-539 until Sept. 30. USCIS also announced plans to remove the requirement for all I-539 applicants.

Form I-539 is the application to change someone’s non-immigrant status to another in cases where the status is not changes by means of a petition, such as for dependents of petition-based visa holders.

Policy Highlights

• Beginning Oct. 1, we are exempting the $85 biometric services fee as part of the application process for Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status.
• Applicants do not need to pay the fee if their application is postmarked Oct. 1 or later. However, certain applicants who file Form I-539 prior to Oct. 1 will still be scheduled for an ASC appointment and should still attend.
• In most cases, applicants will not be scheduled to attend a biometric services appointment. However, if USCIS determines that biometrics are required, the applicant will receive a notice with information about appearing for their biometric services appointment.
• If an applicant mistakenly submits the biometric services fee and the payment is submitted separately from the Form I-539 fee, we will return the biometric services fee and accept the Form I-539.
• If an applicant mistakenly submits the biometric services fee and the payment is combined with a paper-based Form I-539 filing fee, this is considered an incorrect filing and we will reject the Form I-539.
• If an applicant mistakenly authorizes a credit card payment that combines the biometric services fee with the application fee, we will accept the application and only charge the application fee.