New Delhi: The US Department of Homeland security (DHS) has proposed increasing the cost of applying for US citizenship, a move that would significantly
raise fees for legal immigrants seeking naturalization while eliminating fee waivers and reduced cost options for low-income applicants.
Under the proposed rule, the administration is seeking to increase citizenship application fees by about 75 per cent, from $760 to $1,330. According to the DHS proposal, the government wants application fees to match what it actually costs to process immigration cases. The price hikes don’t stop at the initial application, either.
Why citizenship fees rise
If ones citizenship is denied, to challenge the decision and filing Form N-336 for an appeal hearing is also about to get a lot more expensive. Under the new plan, the fee for that request would skyrocket to $1,475 from $830, representing an increase of $645 or 77.7%.
The proposed changes would charge legal immigrants seeking US citizenship $570 more in application fees compared with current rates. The proposal would eliminate fee waivers for citizenship applications and remove the reduced fee option currently available to immigrants whose household income is at or below 400 per cent of the federal poverty line and all fee waiver provisions linked to form N-400. The government will maintain citizenship fee exemptions for US military members.
The rule has not yet been implemented. It has been published as a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which opens a 60-day public comment period during which individuals and organisations can submit feedback.
How it may affect Indians?
As a result, any fee changes would take effect only after the comment period ends and the rule is finalised. The proposed fee hike will heavily impact Indian Green Card holders eligible for US citizenship especially retirees and middle-income families who rely on current fee waivers or reductions.
As one of the largest permanent resident groups in the US, many of whom originally arrived on H-1B visas, a significant number of Indian professionals now face substantially higher out of pocket costs to naturalize.
(Curated by: Faiza Nazar)
