USCIS proposal could complicate path to citizenship for green card holders

Permanent residents in the United States may soon face a substantial increase in the cost of becoming U.S. citizens. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has introduced a proposed regulatory change that would alter naturalization fees and establish a new funding model for these procedures.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the initiative on June 23, proposing that applicants for immigration benefits bear the full cost of the services they receive. The stated goal is to reduce reliance on internal subsidies and ensure adequate resources for evaluation and control tasks.

This measure would particularly impact green card holders seeking citizenship, as it also plans to eliminate current economic relief mechanisms that allow for reduced or waived fees on certain applications. The proposed fee for the N-400 application, used to initiate the naturalization process, would increase from $760 to $1,330 for paper submissions and from $710 to $1,280 for online filings. A $50 difference would remain in favor of online applications, but both would represent a significant cost hike.

Furthermore, the proposal includes a fee increase for the N-336 form, used to request a review when a citizenship petition is denied, raising it to $1,475 for physical submissions and $1,425 for digital ones. The DHS also plans to end reduced fees and fee waivers for certain applicants with limited incomes, requiring full payment for all cases. While qualified members and former members of the armed forces would remain exempt from naturalization fees, the overall path to citizenship is set to become considerably more expensive for many.