Most of our writing this year has been for people trying to get a green card. This one is for people who already have one.
On June 23, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security published a proposed rule that would sharply increase the cost of becoming a U.S. citizen — and remove the options that currently make it affordable for lower-income applicants.
What is proposed
The filing fee for Form N-400, the Application for Naturalization, would rise from $760 to $1,330 for paper filings, and from $710 to $1,280 for online filings — increases of roughly 75 and 80 percent.
The larger change is what disappears alongside it:
- The reduced fee. Applicants with household income at or below 400% of the federal poverty guidelines currently pay $380. That option would be eliminated.
- The fee waiver. Applicants who cannot afford the fee can currently request a full waiver. That would end for the N-400 as well as for Form N-336, used to request a hearing after a denial.
Run those numbers for an actual household. Someone who qualifies for a waiver today would go from paying nothing to paying $1,330. Someone paying the reduced fee would see an increase of $950. Fees for the N-336 would also rise substantially.
Current and former members of the armed forces would remain exempt.
It is not in effect — and that is the problem
To be clear about where this stands: it is a proposal, not a final rule. The public comment period has closed, DHS is reviewing comments, and no final rule has been issued. Today’s fees still apply.
No effective date has been announced. That sounds like reassuring news. In practice it is the opposite, because it means there is no deadline to plan around. A final rule could publish in a month or in six, and people who were “getting to it eventually” will find out the same week everyone else does.
The mechanic that matters here is straightforward: USCIS applies the fee in effect on the date an application is filed. A properly filed application at today’s fee is not repriced because a new rule takes effect while it sits in the queue.
If you are eligible for a fee waiver or the reduced fee today, that eligibility only helps you if your application is already filed when the rule changes.
Why this is not simply “file immediately”
Here is the part that most coverage of this rule leaves out, and it matters more than the money.
A naturalization application is not a routine renewal. It invites USCIS to review your entire immigration history, including how you obtained lawful permanent residence in the first place. Officers examine the period of required good moral character, absences from the United States, tax filings, selective service registration where applicable, and any contact with law enforcement.
For the large majority of green card holders, this review is uneventful. But for some, an N-400 surfaces a problem that had been sitting quietly for years — an old conviction, a long trip abroad that raises abandonment questions, an error or misstatement in a filing made a decade ago. In the current enforcement environment, a naturalization application that goes badly can produce consequences well beyond a denial.
A fee increase is a reason to move deliberately. It is not a reason to file without knowing what is in your own file.
Who should look at this now
- Anyone who currently qualifies for a fee waiver or the $380 reduced fee. You have the most to lose and the narrowest window.
- Anyone who has been eligible for years and simply has not gotten around to it.
- Households with more than one eligible member, where the difference compounds quickly.
- Anyone with an arrest, a lengthy absence from the country, or any uncertainty about their original filing — this group should get an assessment before anything is submitted.
There is also a reason to naturalize that has nothing to do with fees. Lawful permanent residence is a status that can be lost. Citizenship, once granted, is not subject to the same exposure. For families weighing whether it is worth the effort, that difference has become considerably more concrete over the past two years.
Before filing anything, confirm the fee currently in effect on the official USCIS website. Fee schedules are the sort of thing that change without the announcement reaching everyone.
If you have held a green card for years and have been putting off citizenship, this is a reasonable moment to find out where you stand — both what it will cost and whether anything in your history deserves attention first. Gursoy Law Firm assists lawful permanent residents in New York and Florida with naturalization.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. The fee rule described here is a proposal and has not taken effect; confirm current fees and requirements on the official USCIS website before filing. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.