Immigration Costs

Immigration costs are rising according to U.S. inflation, but that does not necessarily apply to foreigners coming from much poorer countries trying to cover these rising costs of immigration. Trying to get a green card in the U.S. is not only getting harder with every year that goes by, but much more expensive. Many of the people wanting to immigrate to the United States are from countries where the wages are drastically lower. That makes the ever growing immigration costs more and more difficult for them to save up for. This is one reason there are so many illegal immigrants living in the country.

They either came here illegally in the first place hoping to earn enough money so they could pay the immigration costs, or they were able to come here on some kind of temporary visa and ended up staying illegally because once again, the high immigration costs made it almost impossible for them to earn enough money to apply for it.



There are many different ways an individual can apply for a green card. One of them is through an employer. This is very expensive for the employer and includes mountains of paperwork along with many legal commitments. Many small companies who would like to help an employee get a green card change their minds when they find out the expenditures and time involved. Not only do they have to fill out an incredible amount of forms, they have to pay all attorney fees, filing fees and advertising fees (they have to advertise the position for a period of time). Here are the approximate cost to an employer trying to get and employee a green card.

1 - Preference Petition ( I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker ) - $475
2 - Final Application For Permanent Residence (I- 485 Application for Adjustment of Status) - $1010
3 - Attorney's fees - $3500-$4000
4 - Advertising fees, Fed ex, and other miscellaneous fees - $800 - $1000

This is a hefty $5385 - $6085 the green card would cost the employer.

Upon doing a little research, I have found that this is a very close estimate, not only for an employer to obtain one for an employee, but for an individual to obtain one as well, less the advertising and miscellaneous costs. All of the other fees still have to be paid no matter who is filing for the green card. That means according to these figures, immigration costs for an individual will be around $5000. The $1485 in filing fees have to be paid as well as the $3500-$4000 in attorney's fees. This could be three to five years wages for immigrates coming from some of the poorer countries.

Of course there are methods by which the immigration costs can be cut significantly. If someone who is trying to get a green card has relatives or friends here who have been through the immigration process, they may be able to give some advice and make some suggestions that could save the applicant some money. There are also some free, or almost free legal services and organizations that help people in applying for their green card.

However, these are not always easy to find for someone who knows no one in the U.S. to assist them, or they are applying from another country. Furthermore, if they were able to find someone willing to give them totally free legal help, this would still leave a minimal of $1485 in immigration costs filing fees.



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*Disclosure: We do not represent the Department of Homeland Security or any legal entity. All content on this site is strictly for informational purposes meant to help you make an informed decision regarding you, or your loved ones immigration to the U.S. Be sure to consult an attorney in immigration for any legal advice.*

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