How to Qualify for a USCIS Fee Waiver or Reduced Fee

July 18, 2026

Two different USCIS programs can lower what you pay to file: a full fee waiver (pay nothing) or a reduced fee (pay a discounted amount, N-400 only). They have different income cutoffs and different paperwork — mixing them up is one of the most common reasons a request gets rejected.

Step 1 — Figure Out Which Program Actually Fits

Fee waiver (Form I-912) — available on many forms, not just N-400. Requires household income at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, receipt of a means-tested benefit, or documented extreme financial hardship.
Reduced fee (Form I-942) — available only on Form N-400 naturalization. Requires documented household income above 150% but under 400% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.

USCIS is explicit that you should not file a reduced-fee request if your income already qualifies you for a full waiver — file the waiver instead, since it’s the better outcome. You also cannot request both on the same application. See the immigration filing fee glossary for how these two terms differ from a fee exemption.

Step 2 — Confirm You Meet One of the Three Fee-Waiver Criteria

For Form I-912, you only need to meet one of these three:

You, your spouse, your child, or your parent (if you’re under 21 or disabled) currently receive a means-tested benefit — Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, SSI, and similar income-based programs qualify; Medicare, Social Security retirement, and unemployment insurance do not.
Your household income is at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for your household size, checked against the current year’s guidelines.
You’re experiencing extreme financial hardship — unemployment, a medical emergency, eviction, homelessness, or a similarly disruptive event that prevents you from paying.

Step 3 — Gather the Right Documentation Before You File

Whichever basis you’re using, USCIS wants clear evidence, not just a claim on the form:

Means-tested benefit — an official letter or notice from the granting agency showing your name, the benefit type, and that it’s currently active (documentation older than 12 months generally won’t be accepted on its own).
Income-based eligibility — tax returns, pay stubs, or other income documentation covering your full household as USCIS defines it (you, your spouse if living with you, and dependents on the same tax return).
Extreme hardship — a detailed written explanation plus supporting evidence like bank statements, medical bills, or an eviction notice. If you can’t produce documentation, USCIS accepts a signed affidavit from someone in your community who can attest to your situation.

Step 4 — File on Paper, Not Online, in Most Cases

If you’re requesting a reduced fee or a fee waiver for Form N-400, you must file a paper application — online N-400 filing isn’t compatible with either request. For other forms, USCIS allows some eligible EAD categories to submit a fee waiver PDF alongside an online I-765, but most fee waiver requests still go in by mail with the paper form.

Step 5 — Know What a Waiver Does Not Cover

Fee waivers apply only to the standard USCIS filing fee — they do not apply to fees required under the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1, Pub. L. 119-21), including the asylum-related fees layered onto some filings. If your form has an HR-1 fee attached, you must submit that portion as a separate payment even with an approved fee waiver on the base fee. See the USCIS fee calculator to see which of your forms carry an HR-1 fee component.

The Most Common Reasons These Requests Get Rejected

Filing for a form or category that isn’t eligible for a fee waiver or reduced fee to begin with.
Missing a signature — the requestor, and a parent or guardian if the requestor is under 14.
Not checking a box indicating which of the three eligibility bases you’re claiming.
Submitting evidence without a certified English translation, when the original document is in another language.
Sending the request without the underlying application or petition attached.

After You’ve Confirmed Eligibility

Once you know which program applies and what your fee will actually be, plug it into the USCIS fee calculator to see how it changes your total, especially if you’re filing more than one form. See how to budget for a multi-form green card filing package for planning a full application package around whichever fee level applies to you. As with every figure on this site, confirm your exact eligibility and amount at uscis.gov before submitting anything — income thresholds and form eligibility both shift periodically.