Trump’s plan to raise the citizenship filing fee by $570 hits legal immigrants with a steep new cost and strips away relief for low-income applicants.

Quick Take

• The Department of Homeland Security proposes raising the paper Form N-400 fee from $760 to $1,330. The online fee would rise from $710 to $1,280.^[3][4]
• The proposal would end fee waivers and reduced-fee options for citizenship cases, leaving only military exemptions in place.^[1][3]
• The appeal fee for a denied naturalization case would also jump sharply, making it harder to challenge a rejection.^[1][4]
• DHS says the higher fees are needed to recover the full cost of adjudicating and processing citizenship applications.^[3][8]

What the Proposal Changes

The new rule would make naturalization much more expensive for legal immigrants who want to become citizens. Under the proposal, the paper filing fee for Form N-400 would rise by 75 percent, while the online fee would rise by 80 percent.^[1][4] The cost to appeal a denial would also climb sharply. That means families that have already followed the law, paid taxes, and waited their turn could face a much higher price just to join the American political community.

The proposal also removes the main affordability tools that have helped low-income applicants pay for citizenship. Current reduced-fee and fee-waiver options would disappear for citizenship cases, leaving only the exemption for active and former military service members.^[1][3] That change matters because naturalization should reward commitment to the country, not turn citizenship into a luxury good. The rule is not final yet, but if approved, it would create a new wall between working-class immigrants and the ballot box.

DHS Says It Needs More Money for Vetting

Department of Homeland Security officials say the increase is about cost recovery, not punishment. The administration argues that current fees do not cover the full expense of screening and vetting, including background checks, interviews, and investigations tied to citizenship review.^[3][8] CBS News reported that DHS says the current fee structure, set under the previous administration, does not cover those added costs.^[8] The rule reflects a clear shift toward tougher scrutiny, and that heavier process is now being used to justify a bigger bill.

That argument will matter in the public comment period, but it does not answer every concern. The research shows the fee increase is large, and the waiver elimination is broad, but it does not give a full breakdown of the actual cost per case.^[1][3] It also does not show how many low-income applicants now rely on fee relief. Without that data, the administration’s cost-recovery case may sound neat on paper while still landing hardest on ordinary applicants.

Why Conservatives Should Watch Closely

Many conservatives will like the idea of tighter vetting and a more serious naturalization process. A stronger test, better screening, and more careful review all fit the common-sense view that citizenship should be earned, not handed out cheaply. But the fee hike raises a different question: does the government want a stronger system, or just a bigger revenue stream? When an agency is funded by the very people it regulates, the public has reason to watch closely.

DHS Proposes Citizenship Fee Increase

A proposed rule issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would increase filing fees for naturalization. The rule proposes $1,330 for paper applications and $1,280 for online filings and eliminates the reduced fee for…

— Murthy Law Firm (@murthylawfirm) June 23, 2026

The rule is also part of a larger trend of making immigration benefits harder to reach while keeping the process formal and slow. The public comment window means the increase is not in force yet, and that gives opponents and supporters time to argue over whether the higher cost matches the claimed need for better vetting.^[3][4] For now, the only certainty is that legal immigrants seeking citizenship may soon pay far more for the same American dream.

Sources:

[1] Web – Trump plan would increase citizenship application fee by $570

[3] Web – USCIS Finalizes Increase in Fees for Immigration-Related Applications

[4] Web – DHS Proposes Significant Increase in Filing Fees for Naturalization …

[8] Web – U.S. Citizenship Application Fee in 2026: Simple Guide