Reduced Fees & Waivers

You are eligible for a Fee Waiver if ONE of the following applies to you:

1. You (or your spouse or child under 18 living with you) receives public benefits (like food stamps/EBT, Medicaid, SSI (Supplemental Security Income), Apple Health, TANF, Section 8 housing)
2. Your household income is less than 150% of the federal poverty level (about $38,000 for a family of 4). Access this link for exact income guidelines.

If you receive a public benefit AND your household income is less than 150% of the federal poverty level, you should apply for the fee waiver under Option 1, based on your public benefit because it is usually easier to prove.

Option 1: Applying for the Fee Waiver ($0) if You Receive a Public Benefit

• Complete the I-912 form.
• You must obtain an award letter from the agency giving you the benefit (for example, Department of Health and Social Services or DSHS). You can request this letter from the office where you originally applied for the benefit, or any affiliated office.
• The letter must be in English and have your name and benefit type and amount stated in the letter.
• The letter must be recent (within the last 6 months), have the agency logo, and show you are currently receiving the benefit. Click here for a sample letter.
• Attach a copy of the letter to your completed I-912 form. Submit I-912 and the benefits letter with your N-400 application for citizenship.
• If your fee waiver is approved, you will receive a receipt confirmation letter from USCIS within 1-2 months.
• If your fee waiver is denied, you will receive a denial letter from USCIS and your application will be returned. You will need to fix the errors on your form, or resubmit with the $760 filing fee. Seek help from an accredited nonprofit organization to correct the errors on your form. It is common for fee waiver applications to be returned for problems that are fairly easy to fix.

Some things that may be confusing:

• Only Medicaid (for low-income people) qualifies as a benefit for the fee waiver. Medicare (for anyone over the age of 65) does NOT qualify as it is a retirement benefit based on your years of working in the USA.
• Only SSI (Supplemental Security Income for the elderly, blind or disabled) qualifies as a benefit for the fee waiver. Social Security income for retired people does NOT qualify as it is based on your work history.
• Unemployment insurance is not a public benefit as it is based on your work history.

Option B: Apply for a Fee Waiver ($0) if you Do NOT Receive any Public Benefit, but Your Household Income is less than 150% of the Federal Poverty Level:

• Verify that your household income is within the guidelines.
• Complete the I-912 form.
• You must prove your income for the past year by submitting last year’s tax return. If you don’t have it, you can also submit all paycheck stubs, and/or a letter from your current employer stating your income, or present your last year end W-2 or 1099s. The household size and filing status on your tax return must match what you write on your I-912 form.
• Attach copies of these documents to your completed I-912 form, and submit this together with your N-400 application for citizenship.
• If your fee waiver is approved, you will receive a receipt confirmation letter from USCIS within 1-2 months.
• If your fee waiver is denied, you will receive a denial letter from USCIS and your application will be returned. You will need to fix the errors on your form, or resubmit with the $760 filing fee.

NOTE: Fee waivers based on household income are often denied because applicants do not submit enough proof of their annual income. If your application is returned to you, a nonprofit organization can help you fill out the I-912 form correctly. However, since it is easier to qualify for the USCIS fee waiver if you receive a public benefit, it is also recommended to apply for public benefits. If you are approved for food stamps (also known as SNAP or EBT), you can apply for the fee waiver based on that. For more information about fee waivers, see https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-fees/additional-information-on-filing-a-fee-waiver

You are eligible for a reduced fee of $380 only if your household income is between 150% and 400% of the federal poverty level. Instead of paying the full $760/$710 fee, you will pay a discounted filing fee of $380. For more information on reduced fees, see the USCIS website.

How to Request the Reduced Fee ($380) if your Household Income is between 150%-400% of the Federal Poverty Level:

• Verify that your household income is within the guidelines.
• Fill out page 11 of the N-400 Naturalization Form, Part 10 #1-5. (There is no longer a separate form required to file for a reduced fee.)
• You must prove your income for the past year by submitting last year’s tax return. If you don’t have it, you can also submit all paycheck stubs, and/or a letter from your current employer stating your income, or your most recent W-2s/1099s. The household size and filing status on your tax return must match what you write on the N-400 form.
• Attach copies of these documents, and a check for $380 to your N-400 form. Make your check payable to “U.S. Department of Homeland Security.”
• If your fee reduced fee request is approved, you will receive a receipt confirmation letter from USCIS within 1-2 months.
• If your reduced fee request is denied, you will receive a denial letter from USCIS and your application will be returned. USCIS will not cash your check; they will return it to you. You can fix the errors on your N-400 application and submit it again. Or, you can resubmit with the full $760 filing fee if filing by mail.

NOTE: Fee waivers and reduced fee requests based on household income are often denied because applicants do not submit enough proof of their annual income. If your application is returned to you, a nonprofit organization can help your applications correctly.

• Economic Hardship fee waivers are a third way to avoid paying the $760 (paper filed)/$710 (E-filed) filing fee. At Washington New Americans citizenship workshops, we do NOT assist with these types of waivers, but many of our partner organizations and private attorneys can help you. We do not have the time at our workshops to work on these more complicated fee waiver requests.
• If you do not qualify for one of the fee waiver types above (based on public benefits or income), or the reduced fee (based on income), you might qualify for ran economic hardship fee waiver.
• Here, you must show some exceptional or unusual circumstances in your life, with proof, to request a hardship waiver. An example might be if your home or livelihood was destroyed in a fire or hurricane, or you have recent excessive medical bills, or you have had a severe illness or injury where you can’t work. The facts will be very specific to your circumstances. You may need to provide a declaration and/or some supporting documents. These types of waivers take more time to prepare. Use form I-912 for your claim as there is a section on the form dealing with hardship waivers. You should also review the form instructions.
• Economic hardship waivers are harder to get approved. If your request is denied, your application will be returned to you, and you will need to either amend it or re-submit it with the proper fee.
• Economic hardship waivers, like the other fee waivers and reduced fees, are NOT available if you E-file your N-400. If you prepare a form I-912, submit it by mail WITH your N-400.