Citizenship Fees Get Minor Tweak and Faster Waivers
Published Date: 7/8/2026
Proposed Rule
Summary
Starting soon, people applying to become U.S. citizens might see some changes in the fees they pay. If you can’t afford the fee, you can ask for a waiver using a special form that helps speed up the decision. This update affects individuals and households applying for naturalization and aims to make fee waivers clearer and faster.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
Faster, standardized fee-waiver form
If you cannot afford the naturalization fee, USCIS will accept a fee waiver request using Form I-912. USCIS says Form I-912 standardizes the evidence you give and streamlines and expedites approval or rejection under 8 CFR 106.3 so decisions should be clearer and faster for applicants and households.
Denied waiver requires refiling with fee
USCIS will notify you if your fee waiver is denied and will instruct you to file a new naturalization application with the appropriate fee. If your waiver is not granted, you must pay the application fee and refile to move your case forward.
Time and money burden for N-336 filings
The document estimates Form N-336 (paper) will have 3,788 respondents with an average 2.567 hours per response, and Form N-336 (online) will have 1,263 respondents with an average 2.5 hours per response. USCIS estimates a total annual public burden of 12,882 hours and a total annual cost burden of $2,601,265 for this collection.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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