United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have made it cheaper and easier for families with children to apply to work in the USA.

Taking on board more than 3,900 comments from the public in a comprehensive review of its system, the federal department has waived certain visa fees and extended exemptions in order to lower filing costs and speed up the applications process.

Filing an I-485 on behalf of a child under the age of 14 is now 25 per cent cheaper, or as much as $360 less for a family of four. Prospective parents hoping to adopt a child in the States will also be aided by a free extension of approved orphan petitions.

On an individual basis, the USCIS will also waive the $375 filing fee for juveniles in need of I-360 petitions, while many applicants applying for work in the USA will no longer have to pay the $80 biometric fee.

“The volume and value of the comments we received has provided an opportunity to fine-tune our final fee structure that we believe is both fair to our customers and vital to our nation, as we continue to build a secure and efficient national immigration service,” said USCIS director Emilio Gonzalez.

Processing times for a third of foreigners applying to work in the USA will also drop next year, with a 20 per cent cut in waiting times for I-90, I-140, I-485 and N-400 applications targeted by 2009.

The I-140 is an immigration petition for an overseas worker hoping to secure work in the USA, the N-400 is for naturalisation and the I-90 is a residency renewal petition.

More victims of human trafficking, humanitarian sufferers, refugees and asylum seekers will also be extended fee exemptions in order to facilitate their hopes of obtaining work in the USA.

Contributed by J.Bevan