This fee adjustment is a result of the USCIS conducting a comprehensive fee review and determining that the current fees do not reflect current processes, or recover the full costs of services that should be provided.  

The fee hike operates under the basic theory of consolidation. The rule proposes to merge the fees for certain applications so applicants will pay a single fee rather than paying several fees for related services.  The proposed rule also seeks to eliminate fees for interim benefits (such as the I-131 Travel Document and the I-765 Employment Authorization), duplicate filings, and premium processing by combining and reallocating costs among the various fees.  Certain applicants will be exempt from fees, such as applicants for T nonimmigrant status, or for status under the Violence Against Women Act. 

Proposed fee increases for some of the most commonly used forms looks like this:

We expect that USCIS will provide advance notification of 30-60 days before the fee increases are actually implemented.  We'll keep you posted on this.