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DHS Proposes 75–80% Increase in U.S. Naturalization Fees

DHS says the change will make applicants pay full adjudication costs to fund expanded vetting under the administration’s policy priorities.

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NEW YORK - MAY 14: A newly-naturalized American citizen poses for a picture with his papers after a naturalization ceremony at a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office May 14, 2010 in New York City. The New York office for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services holds frequent naturalization ceremonies in its downtown Manhattan office where today 183 people from 51 different nations were sworn in as U.S. citizens. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)
MOUNT VERNON, VA - MAY 21: New U.S. citizens Jamal El Harchy (R) from Morocco and Olesya Taylor (L) from Russia, look at their citizenship certificates at a ceremony May 21, 2007 at George Washington?s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens in Mount Vernon, Virginia. The Senate today began debate on a compromise immigration reform bill which allows illegal immigrants to obtain a renewable ?Z visa? after paying a fine, after which they'd be able to get on track toward permanent residency. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Overview

  • The proposed rule, which DHS published Monday, June 22, would raise Form N-400 fees from $760 to $1,330 for paper filings and from $710 to $1,280 for online filings and would also sharply raise Form N-336 appeal fees.
  • The regulation would eliminate most fee waivers and the current reduced-fee option for low-income applicants while preserving fee exemptions for current and former U.S. service members.
  • DHS frames the move as a shift to ‘full-cost, beneficiary-pays’ funding to cover added screening, social-media checks, neighborhood checks and other vetting steps ordered by the President.
  • The proposal is a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that opened a 60-day public comment period and is not final, with DHS projecting roughly $430 million in additional annual cost recovery if implemented.
  • Advocates and former officials warn the higher fees and loss of waivers could deter many lower-income lawful permanent residents from naturalizing and reduce civic integration, and analysts note the change fits a broader tightening of legal immigration policy.