Naturalization fee would almost double under gov’t proposal
People who want to become U.S. citizens could end up paying much higher fees if they wait too long to apply for naturalization.
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services proposes to hike the filing fee for naturalization applications from $640 to $1,170. It is part of a proposed overall 21% increase in fees the agency collects for applications not only for citizenship but legal residency in the United States.
CIS has set aside a public comment period on the increases until Dec. 2, after which the proposals could take effect.
Iveth Lopez, director of Pueblo Immigration, a nonprofit agency in San Luis, Ariz., says the biggest single increase would be in the fee for a naturalization application, which would also cover the costs of processing applicants’ fingerprints.
“It’s going to be a big impact,” she said. “People who are planning to apply for citizenship should do it before Dec. 2, so they aren’t paying more.”
CIS said in a news release it depends on fees for nearly 96% of its revenue and that the hikes are needed to cover budget increases.
The last increase in fees collected by the agency was in 2016, CIS says. Meanwhile in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 20, the agency naturalized the most citizenship applicants in 11 years, 833,000.
Coupled with the proposed naturalization fee increase, the agency is hardening the rules for citizenship applications to seek exemption from paying the fee, Lopez said.
Not all fees, however, would be reduced.
The fee for replacement of permanent residency card would go down from $455 to $415, while the fee to apply for residency for a spouse would drop from $535 to $520. The fee to apply for residency for other relatives would go up from $535 to $555.
Lopez urged those planning to seek citizenship to file their applications before Dec. 2.
“The agency says that the proposal is in a comment period, but typically the fees are approved as they are proposed, so they should file their applications soon so they don’t pay more.”