How Much Does It Cost To Get Us Citizenship

How Much Does it Cost to Become a U.S. Citizen?

Posted by Frank Gogol

You've been patient and have waited out the time. You've made sure to keep to all the regulations of being a lawful permanent resident and have checked that you're eligible for U.S. citizenship. You're finally ready to apply for naturalization. Now you only need to know, "how much does it cost to become a U.S. citizen"?

Below, we'll look at the fees which apply to a naturalization application and whether you might be eligible to pay reduced fees or have your fees waived.

What is Form N-400?

Form N-400 is also known as the Application for Naturalization. This is the form you need to file with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to apply for naturalization. We won't focus on the Form N-400 in detail in this article but for tips on how to complete the Form N-400, take a look here.

If you want to make sure you are eligible to apply for naturalization and to file Form N-400, you can also take a look here.

How Much Does It Cost to Become a Citizen?

The current fee to become a U.S. citizen through naturalization is $725. As of writing, this is the fee you will have to pay to file your Form N-400. The Trump administration has proposed to increase this fee by more than 80% (to $1170), but this proposal has not come in force yet. You can read more about this proposal here. To stay updated on the latest fees, check out the USCIS page here.

The total fee of $725 includes:

$640 application fee for the USCIS to process your application, and
$85 biometrics service fee.

These total fees do not include any fees you may have to pay to a service provider or attorney helping you prepare your application. Also, keep in mind both the application fee and the biometrics service fee are non-refundable fees. Even if the USCIS rejects your citizenship application, you won't get these funds back.

So, the short answer to "how much does it cost to become a U.S. citizen?" is $725.

There are specific circumstances in which you can have these fees reduced or waived in its entirety. You can look at the "Waivers and Fee Reductions" section below for more info on this. Note that the Trump administration is also seeking to have fee waivers removed. However, as of writing, fee waivers are still available.

What are the Ways to Pay Citizenship Fees?

How you pay your citizenship fees will depend on where you are filing from and how you are filing your naturalization application.

If you are in the U.S. and are filing online through myUSCIS, you will be able to pay your citizenship fees online through myUSCIS.

If you are in the U.S. and you submit a paper Form N-400 through the mail, you have the following options to pay your citizenship fees:

Money order
Cashier's check
Personal check
Credit card.

If you are outside the U.S., you can also pay with a money order, personal check, or cashier's check. However, it is best to contact your U.S. embassy or consulate and get specific payment instructions from them.

If you pay with a money order, cashier's check or personal check, keep the following in mind:

You must spell out the "U.S. Department of Homeland Security" as the payee. Do not use abbreviations like "DHS" or "USDHS".
The payment must be payable in U.S. currency and drawn from a bank or other financial institution from within the U.S.
You can use a paper clip to attach your check or money order on top of your Form N-400 when filing.

Here are a few general tips for when you pay your citizenship fees:

Do not send or include cash with your paper N-400 if you are submitting through the mail. You can only use the payment methods we've listed above.
If you pay using a credit card, use a Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions. Complete the entire form, make sure you sign it and place it on top of your Form N-400 when you submit.
You can only select one payment method to pay all your fees through. You can not pay the application fee and the biometric fee using two different payment methods.
If you are submitting citizenship applications for your family, you must also use the same payment method for all the applications.
You have to pay the exact amounts, irrespective of the payment method you choose to use. If you don't, the USCIS will reject your application and will refund your payment. You will then have to resubmit your naturalization application and make the payment again.

Now you know how to pay your citizenship fees, let's see whether you qualify for a fee waiver or reduction.

Waivers and Fee Reductions

As mentioned above, there may be circumstances where you will only have to pay a reduced fee or maybe won't have to pay any fee at all (known as a fee waiver).

This would be where:

You are applying for U.S. citizenship based on your military service
You are 75 years or older, or
You qualify for an income-based waiver or reduction.

The waiver or reduction will work as follows:

If you are applying based on your military service, you are exempt from both the citizenship application fee ($640) and the biometrics service fee ($85). You won't have to pay any application fees.
If you are 75 years or older, you will be exempt from the biometrics service fee ($85). You will still have to pay the citizenship application fee ($640).
If you qualify for an income-based waiver or reduction, your fees will be partially reduced or completely waived.

You will qualify for an income-based waiver or reduction if you meet one of the following requirements:

You are currently undergoing financial hardship, which prevents you from being able to pay the filing fees. This can be anything, including unexpected medical bills.
You or another qualified member of your household are currently receiving a means-tested benefit. This is a type of benefit you qualify for based on your level of income.
Your overall household income is below 150% of the poverty level at the time you file. You can check the current poverty levels here.

You will find more details and examples about possible fee waivers and reductions here.

To see how a fee waiver or reduction might influence your final fee payable, you can take a look at the table here.

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Conclusion

Now you know the answer to "how much does it cost to become a U.S. citizen?". If you want to make sure you don't pay a dollar more, make sure you file your citizenship application before any fee increases take force. Or, if you have any other questions relating to applying for citizenship, you can take a look at the detailed guide for N-400 here.

Stilt, Inc strives to keep this blog information accurate and up to date. All information is presented without warranty. Discrepancies may be found. This blog does not consist of legal advice.

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