U.S. Naturalization Application Fee

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offers a full fee waiver and a partial fee waiver.

USCIS will waive the full naturalization filing fee of $680 ($595 for applicants age 75 or older) if you are receiving income-based public assistance. Don’t put off becoming a U.S. citizen. Naturalizing is your best protection against restrictive changes in our immigration laws.

The REAL ID Act and passports

Your passport is valid for 10 years, and a child’s passport is valid for five. However, many countries require you to have validity through six months after your return date in order to travel. So, check your expiration date this month and mark down when you should renew your passport, especially if you travel overseas frequently. Passports can take anywhere from four to six weeks to renew, or three weeks via expedited service that’ll cost you an extra $60.

The REAL ID Act means that U.S. state IDs must have certain security features and data attached to them in order to be valid, and IDs are typically necessary to get on a plane. Not all states currently have standardized these enhanced security features, yet the REAL ID Act is set to take effect in early 2018 — so all states that are not compliant have been granted an extension. The full list of states with non-complying features can be found on the Department of Homeland Security’s website. If your state is one, you’ll need to make sure you’re flying with a REAL ID-compliant id by October 2020.

USCIS Revises Form, Application for Naturalization

USCIS released a revised Naturalization Form, Application for Naturalization. Through the Federal Register, USCIS received numerous comments from the public that helped inform this revision.

The revisions to Form provide USCIS with additional tools to make important eligibility determinations, present customers with clearer instructions, and incorporate technology that improves efficiency and accuracy for both USCIS and our customers. Although the form is now revised, the eligibility requirements for naturalization have not changed.