US citizenship may get costlier. How NRIs will be affected
Indians have been the second-largest group acquiring US citizenship in recent years.
Indians living in the United States who hope to become American citizens may soon have to dig deeper into their pockets. The US Department of Homeland Security has proposed eliminating fee waivers and reduced-fee options for citizenship applications, a move that would sharply increase the cost of becoming a US citizen through naturalisation.
Under the proposal, the fee for Form N-400, the application used by green card holders to obtain US citizenship, would rise from $760 to $1,330 for paper filings and from $710 to $1,280 for online applications. The increases amount to 75 and 80 per cent, respectively. The department has also proposed increases for Form N-336, which is used by applicants seeking a review of a denied application.
The move could significantly impact Indians, who have remained the second-largest group acquiring US citizenship through naturalisation in recent years. According to data from the Department of Homeland Security, Indians accounted for six per cent of all people who became US citizens through naturalisation in 2024, behind only Mexico's 13 per cent. Over the last five years, nearly 3.7 lakh Indians obtained US citizenship through naturalisation.
Immigration experts have warned that the proposal could make citizenship less accessible for lower-income immigrants. “The proposal represents a significant shift in the cost of becoming a US citizen,” said Adam Klein, former DHS official and co-founder of Globali.ai. “While the USCIS is largely a fee-funded agency and must recover its operational costs, substantially increasing naturalisation fees risks turning citizenship into a benefit that is less accessible to those of modest means.”
Klein added that naturalisation has historically been encouraged because citizens tend to experience greater economic mobility, civic participation and long-term integration. “Higher fees could undermine those goals,” he said.
The DHS has defended the proposal, saying the current fee does not fully cover the cost of processing applications. According to a department official, the changes were part of a periodic fee adjustment exercise and described naturalisation as the most significant benefit that can be granted to a legal immigrant.
Indians living in the United States who hope to become American citizens may soon have to dig deeper into their pockets. The US Department of Homeland Security has proposed eliminating fee waivers and reduced-fee options for citizenship applications, a move that would sharply increase the cost of becoming a US citizen through naturalisation.
Under the proposal, the fee for Form N-400, the application used by green card holders to obtain US citizenship, would rise from $760 to $1,330 for paper filings and from $710 to $1,280 for online applications. The increases amount to 75 and 80 per cent, respectively. The department has also proposed increases for Form N-336, which is used by applicants seeking a review of a denied application.
The move could significantly impact Indians, who have remained the second-largest group acquiring US citizenship through naturalisation in recent years. According to data from the Department of Homeland Security, Indians accounted for six per cent of all people who became US citizens through naturalisation in 2024, behind only Mexico's 13 per cent. Over the last five years, nearly 3.7 lakh Indians obtained US citizenship through naturalisation.
Immigration experts have warned that the proposal could make citizenship less accessible for lower-income immigrants. “The proposal represents a significant shift in the cost of becoming a US citizen,” said Adam Klein, former DHS official and co-founder of Globali.ai. “While the USCIS is largely a fee-funded agency and must recover its operational costs, substantially increasing naturalisation fees risks turning citizenship into a benefit that is less accessible to those of modest means.”
Klein added that naturalisation has historically been encouraged because citizens tend to experience greater economic mobility, civic participation and long-term integration. “Higher fees could undermine those goals,” he said.
The DHS has defended the proposal, saying the current fee does not fully cover the cost of processing applications. According to a department official, the changes were part of a periodic fee adjustment exercise and described naturalisation as the most significant benefit that can be granted to a legal immigrant.
