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Title 42 — The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73

§5174b Critical document fee waiver

Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 68— - DISASTER RELIEF › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER IV— - MAJOR DISASTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS › § 5174b

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The President, after consulting a State Governor, may waive certain replacement fees for people or households described in section 5174(e)(1). Covered fees include the passport application fee when a passport was lost in a major disaster within the preceding three calendar years, the passport file‑search fee, filing fees for Forms I‑193, I‑90, N‑300, N‑565, I‑765, and the biometric services fee. Those waivers apply even if someone cannot get a Form I‑912 fee waiver, and section 5174(h)’s limit does not apply. Within 365 days after October 5, 2018, the Administrator and other agency heads with this authority must report the costs to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §5174b

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(1)Notwithstanding section 214 of title 22 or any other provision of law, the President, in consultation with the Governor of a State, may provide a waiver under this subsection to an individual or household described in section 5174(e)(1) of this title for the following document replacement fees:
(A)The passport application fee for individuals who lost their United States passport in a major disaster within the preceding three calendar years.
(B)The file search fee for a United States passport.
(C)The Application for Waiver of Passport and/or Visa form (Form I–193) fee.
(D)The Permanent Resident Card replacement form (Form I–90) filing fee.
(E)The Declaration of Intention form (Form N–300) filing fee.
(F)The Naturalization/Citizenship Document replacement form (Form N–565) filing fee.
(G)The Employment Authorization form (Form I–765) filing fee.
(H)The biometric service fee.
(2)The authority of the President to waive fees under subparagraphs (C) through (H) of paragraph (1) applies regardless of whether the individual or household qualifies for a Form I–912 Request for Fee Waiver, or any successor thereto.
(3)The assistance limit in section 5174(h) of this title shall not apply to any fee waived under this subsection.
(4)Not later than 365 days after October 5, 2018, the Administrator and the head of any other agency given critical document fee waiver authority under this subsection shall submit a report to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives on the costs associated with providing critical document fee waivers as described in paragraph (1).

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was enacted as part of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 and as part of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, and not as part of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act which comprises this chapter. Section is comprised of subsec. (a) of section 1238 of Pub. L. 115–254. Subsecs. (b) and (c) of section 1238 of Pub. L. 115–254 amended section 5122 of this title and enacted provisions set out as a note under that section.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Authorities provided under div. D of Pub. L. 115–254, which enacted this section, applicable to each major disaster and emergency declared by the President under Pub. L. 93–288 on or after Jan. 1, 2016, except as otherwise provided, see section 1202(b) of Pub. L. 115–254, set out in an

Effective Date

of 2018 Amendment note under section 5121 of this title. Definitions For definitions of terms used in this section, see section 1203 of Pub. L. 115–254, set out as a note under section 5122 of this title.

Executive Documents

Delegation of Functions and Authorities Under section 1238 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 Memorandum of President of the United States, Dec. 21, 2018, 84 F.R. 3957, provided: Memorandum for the Secretary of State [and] the Secretary of Homeland Security By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby: (1) delegate to the Secretary of State the functions and authorities vested in the President by section 1238(a)(1)(A)–(B) of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–254) [42 U.S.C. 5174b(a)(1)(A)–(B)]; and (2) delegate to the Secretary of Homeland Security the functions and authorities vested in the President by section 1238(a)(1)(C)–(H) of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018. The delegations in this memorandum shall apply to any provisions of any future public law that are the same or substantially the same as the provisions referenced in this memorandum. The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security may redelegate within their departments the functions and authorities delegated by this memorandum to the extent authorized by law. The Secretary of State is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register. Donald J. Trump.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 5174b

Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73