Requesting Reduced Fee: Under the prior regulation, request for a reduced fee for naturalization had to be submitted on a separate Form I-942. That form is no longer used for a reduced fee request. As of April 1, 2024, the N-400 Application for Naturalization has been revised and includes a question in Part 10 which will initiate a request for fee reduction. Note that if an applicant is seeking a full fee waiver, then they should not also apply for a fee reduction. The fee waiver can be applied for with Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver.

Means Tested Benefit: A naturalization applicant can demonstrate that they are unable to pay the required fee and are eligible to receive a full fee waiver if, at the time of filing, they are receiving a means-tested benefit. A means-tested benefit is a federal, state, locally or tribally funded benefit where the agency granting it considers income and resources in determining eligibility. The USCIS Policy Manual provides a nonexhaustive list of examples of such programs.

Extreme financial hardship: The last basis on which a naturalization applicant can qualify for a full waiver is if they demonstrate extreme financial hardship, described by USCIS as “when a requester requires substantially all of their current income and liquid assets to meet current ordinary and necessary living expenses.” The requester should document the financial impact of the hardship in the 12 months prior to receipt of the fee waiver request. Some examples of such situations are listed in the USCIS Policy Manual, ranging from medical illness, unemployment, eviction, homelessness, natural disaster, military deployment of a spouse or parent, divorce or death of a spouse to “other situations that could not normally be expected in the regular course of life events that would limit a person’s ability to meet necessary living expenses.”