Visa Immigration Fee Increase Rule Partially Stayed by Court

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services properly increased visa fees on asylum seekers but not on foreign investors seeking to become US citizens, a federal district court said.

The agency adjusted its visa fees for foreign investors under the EB-5 program before a required study was completed in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and the EB-5 Reform Integrity Act, Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney said Wednesday for the US District Court for the District of Colorado. As a result, a stay of the final rule’s imposition of EB-5 fees is appropriate, Sweeney said.

The new asylum fees weren’t arbitrary and ...