Federal court denies stay for Texas in EPA case
National News
A federal appeals court has blocked Texas' effort to stop the Environmental Protection Agency from forcing states to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Wednesday declined to issue a stay that would delay the EPA's plans as Texas' lawsuit against the federal agency moves forward. Texas is suing to stop the EPA from implementing a plan to regulate the gases that will start on Jan. 2.
The EPA took the unprecedented step this month of announcing it will directly issue permits to Texas industries after the state openly refused to comply with the regulations.
A spokeswoman for Texas Gov. Rick Perry said he was disappointed with the court's ruling but confident that the state will prevail "in the end."
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USCIS Adjusting Premium Processing Fee
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today it is adjusting the premium processing fee for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers beginning on Oct. 1, 2018 to more effectively adjudicate petitions and maintain effective service to petitioners.
The premium processing fee will increase to $1,410, a 14.92 percent increase (after rounding) from the current fee of $1,225. This increase, which is done in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act, represents the percentage change in inflation since the fee was last increased in 2010 based on the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers.
“Because premium processing fees have not been adjusted since 2010, our ability to improve the adjudications and service processes for all petitioners has been hindered as we’ve experienced significantly higher demand for immigration benefits. Ultimately, adjusting the premium processing fee will allow us to continue making necessary investments in staff and technology to administer various immigration benefit requests more effectively and efficiently,” said Chief Financial Officer Joseph Moore. “USCIS will continue adjudicating all petitions on a case-by-case basis to determine if they meet all standards required under applicable law, policies, and regulations.”
Premium processing is an optional service that is currently authorized for certain petitioners filing Forms I-129 or I-140. The system allows petitioners to request 15-day processing of certain employment-based immigration benefit requests if they pay an extra fee. The premium processing fee is paid in addition to the base filing fee and any other applicable fees, which cannot be waived.