In an announcement made by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), fees for acquiring American citizenship are slated to increase as of April 1.

The fee for filing the Application for Naturalization form, commonly known as N-400, will surge from its current $640 to $760, with an additional $725 required if biometric work is necessary.

Moreover, the cost for submitting the forms essential for legal permanent residency, referred to as the “green card” packet, will see a substantial rise from $1,760 to $3,005, as reported by USA Today.

The Department of Homeland Security emphasized that the adjustment is a result of a comprehensive biennial fee review, revealing that current fees fail to cover the complete expenses of providing adjudication and naturalization services.

The DHS stated, “DHS is adjusting the fee schedule to fully recover costs and maintain adequate service.”

In an effort to mitigate the impact on low-income individuals, the new guidelines offer expanded eligibility for reduced rates, with discounts accessible to those earning below 400% of the federal poverty guideline. For them, the filing fee for form N-400 will increase to $380 from $320.

Highlighting its recent achievements, USCIS announced that it successfully administered the Oath of Allegiance to over 878,500 new citizens in fiscal year 2023, effectively eliminating its backlog of naturalization applications.

Despite these strides, the DHS estimates that as of January 1, 2023, approximately 9 million legal permanent residents in the United States are eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship but have yet to do so.

Credit: The Hill