USCIS Announces Updates to Fee Exemptions and Expedited Processes for Afghan Nationals

In a Nutshell

USCIS announced fee exemptions and expedited processes that will apply to Afghan nationals filing for certain immigration benefits. These new procedures will remain in effect until September 30, 2023. 

Written by ImmigrationHelp News Team
Written November 29, 2022


Afghan nationals seeking to relocate to the United States have had to deal with personal challenges, long processing times, and fees that might be unaffordable for them. However, USCIS announced extensions to fee exemptions and expedited processes that will apply to Afghan nationals filing for certain statuses. Originally announced in November 2021, USCIS decided to extend these exemptions as of November 22, 2022. These new procedures will remain in effect until September 30, 2023.

Fee exemptions: USCIS won’t charge visa or associated immigration packet fees to Afghan nationals filing for the following forms:

Expedited processes: The U.S. is currently facing a backlog of 2 million unprocessed immigration applications. With an expedited process, the USCIS is committing to looking at applications more quickly. For Afghan nationals, the following forms will be processed more quickly, allowing them to get answers about their application more quickly so they can move on with their lives in the U.S. 

The USCIS has outlined all of this information in its Information for Afghan Nationals page. This information is also available in Dari and Pashto.