US Nearly Doubles Fee To Apply for US Citizenship
The fee would increase from $830 to $1,475 for paper filings and from $780 to $1,425 for online filings.
Hyderabad: The United States department of homeland security (DHS) has proposed a 80 per cent hike in the fees charged for applying for American citizenship.
According to a proposed rule published by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the fee for Form N-400, the application used to obtain US citizenship, would rise from $760 to $1,330 for paper applications and from $710 to $1,280 for online applications.
The proposal would also remove the current reduced-fee option available to lower-income applicants. DHS also proposed increasing the fee for Form N-336, which allows applicants to appeal a denied naturalisation application. The fee would increase from $830 to $1,475 for paper filings and from $780 to $1,425 for online filings.
Under the proposal, fee waivers for both forms would be eliminated. At present, some applicants who meet income requirements can apply without paying the filing fee. The government argues that the existing fees do not cover the full cost of processing applications and conducting background checks, interviews and security screening.
DHS officials said that the changes are intended to ensure that applicants pay the full cost of the services they receive. The agency stated that the current system requires other immigration applicants to effectively subsidise naturalisation applicants through higher fees on different immigration benefits.
The proposed rule will be open for public comments for 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register. No final decision has yet been made, and the changes will only take effect if the rule is approved following the public consultation process.
