The Department of Homeland Security is proposing to increase the fee for a U.S. citizenship application from $760 to $1,330 and eliminate the reduced fee and fee waiver. The proposal is not yet in effect—public comments can be submitted until August 24, 2026. Anyone who applies earlier will pay according to today’s fee schedule.
An application for naturalization currently costs $760 on paper and $710 online. The Department of Homeland Security wants to raise this to $1,330 and $1,280. That is an increase of $570—a 75 percent hike for paper applications and 80 percent for electronic submissions.
The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on June 23, 2026. It is not currently in effect, and no one is paying an extra cent today. However, time is running out to voice an opinion on the matter: comments are accepted until August 24, 2026.
Current vs. Proposed Fees
- Form N-400 (Application for Naturalization), paper: from $760 to $1,330
- Form N-400, online: from $710 to $1,280
- Form N-336 (Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings), paper: from $830 to $1,475
- Form N-336, online: from $780 to $1,425
The discount for filing applications online remains unchanged and is still $50. That is the only good news in this document.
Two Relief Options Disappear, Not One
The fee increase is only half the story. The proposal eliminates two mechanisms that currently allow certain individuals to pay less or nothing at all.
The reduced fee is currently available to individuals whose household income does not exceed 400 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. This is a high threshold, encompassing working people, not just the poorest. Applications with the reduced fee can only be filed on paper, accompanied by a copy of each household member’s most recent tax return. This option is set to disappear completely.
The fee waiver can currently be obtained on one of three grounds: receiving a means-tested benefit, having an income at or below 150 percent of the poverty level, or demonstrating extreme financial hardship. The waiver is to be eliminated for both citizenship applications and appeals.
Who Will Actually Be Affected
Figures from the proposal itself show how widely the reduced fee option was adopted. In fiscal years 2019–2023, reduced-fee applications accounted for an average of 0.3 percent of all naturalization applications. Following the expansion of the income threshold in 2024, this percentage rose to 3.2 percent within a year.
The scale is also evident on the financial side. The department estimates that eliminating fee waivers for both forms will bring approximately $196 million annually into the USCIS budget, eliminating the reduced fee will generate another $16.7 million, and the fee increase for those paying the full rate will add about $430 million annually. Nearly one million naturalization applications are submitted each year.
For a Polish family in Greenpoint or Maspeth, the math is simple. Two adults with green cards who want to apply together currently pay $1,420 online. After the change, it will be $2,560. The difference is $1,140, roughly equivalent to a month’s rent.
Is It Worth Applying Now?
Yes, if you already meet the requirements. USCIS calculates fees based on the schedule in effect on the day the application is received—not the day the decision is made. An application submitted before the new rates take effect will be processed at today’s rate, even if the decision is made much later.
The proposal does not provide an effective date and will not do so until the final version is released after the consultation period closes. Usually, a few months pass between the two, but nothing is guaranteed. Anyone who has a complete set of documents and the required period of residence has no reason to wait until autumn.
However, be cautious about rushing eligibility. An application filed prematurely—before fulfilling the five-year residency requirement, or three years if married to a U.S. citizen—will be rejected, and the fee will not be refunded. Rushing only makes sense if the requirements are already met.
You Can Have Your Say Until August 24
The proposal is in the public consultation stage, and anyone can submit comments—even non-citizens. Comments are accepted via the regulations.gov portal under docket number USCIS-2026-0265. The deadline is midnight Eastern Time on August 24, 2026. At the time of checking, over seven hundred comments had been submitted.
Consultations are not a referendum, and the number of votes alone does not decide anything. However, the agency is obligated to address the arguments submitted in the final version, and a well-documented comment can serve as a hook in subsequent legal disputes.
What Remains Unchanged
Service members and veterans applying for citizenship based on military service remain exempt from fees. This stems directly from statutory law, and the department cannot alter it.
The requirements for naturalization also remain unchanged: the required period of residence, the English and civics test, and the requirement for good moral character. The proposal concerns money only.
Bartosz Karczmarski
