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Immigration Blog

Lux Law immigration blog provides up-to-date information on the recent developments in immigration law for U.S. citizens and foreign nationals interested in immigrating to the U.S. The blog covers a wide variety of issues, from news from the White House to tips on how to navigate the USCIS regulations.

New Fee Waiver Requirements for USCIS Applications

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If you are filing an immigration application or petition with United States Citizenship and Immigration Cervices (“USCIS”), and you feel that you are not in the position to pay the full filing fee, you can apply for a fee waiver. It can be accomplished by filing Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver, with your petition or application. In the recent past you had to show that you qualify for a fee waiver based on the following three factors:

1. You or some of your family members receive a means-tested public benefit, i.e. a benefit for which the eligibility is determined based on your income and resources.

2. Your household income is at or below 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, at the time of filing, based on your household size.

3. You are experiencing an unusual financial hardship.

On October 25, 2019, USCIS issued a statement revising Form I-912 and removing means-tested benefit criteria that was previously used as a factor in determining whether an applicant was exempt from paying for filing fees. What does it mean? It means that if you are using any public benefit offered by federal, state, or local agencies, such as Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, and Supplemental Security Income, you can no longer use that fact alone to qualify for a fee waiver. In other words, you may still request a fee waiver if: your documented annual household income is at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines; or you can demonstrate financial hardship.

If you need to request a fee waiver after December 2, 2019, you must submit the 10/24/19 version of Form I-912. After December 2, 2019, USCIS will reject any Form I-912 with an edition date of 03/13/18 or earlier, a fee waiver request submitted with a letter, or documentation of receipt of means-tested benefit to show eligibility for a fee waiver. If you submit your documents prior to December 2, 2019, USCIS will adjudicate your request according to the previous policy.

Sources: USCIS Updates Fee Waiver Requirements, available at https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/uscis-updates-fee-waiver-requirements

Yuliya PashkovaComment