The Costs Of Applying For USA Green Card

There are certain fees that you should pay when you are applying for a green card or lawful permanent residency visa. The USA green card cost and fees will be directly paid to the USCIS or to the U.S. State Department. The fee you are going to pay will depend on what type of Visa you are applying for. The fee will also depend if you are applying outside the country, called consular processing, applying within the United States or applying for adjustment status. All fees shall be paid upon filing the application, not when you are getting a form for your application. All forms are free and can be downloaded online through the ISCIS website.

USA Green Card Cost Visa Petition

Your basic eligibility will be established upon filing your first form of application, which is your Visa Petition. They will check if you are eligible through relationship with family or by a job offer. When your visa petitioner is filing your application, for example your employer, they will be paying for the fees. Submitting your visa petition form is just the starting point of the process. Fees are subject to change, so it is best to check on the latest fees at the USCIS website. These forms will be filed depending on what you are applying for:

  • Family Based cases – Form I-130 which will cost $420
  • Fiancé Cases – Form I-129F which will cost $340
  • Employment Based – Form I-140 which will cost $580
  • Investor Visa Applicant – Form I-526 which will cost $1,500
  • Asylum Applicant – Form I-589 is free

USA Green Card Cost Successive Fees

If you are doing a consular processing or adjusting status, the fees are different after filing the first visa petition.

  • Consular Processing

You will be able to figure out the exact amount you must pay when you visit the State department website. For a family visa, it will cost $230 and an employment visa will cost $405.

  • Adjusting Status

The fee for adjusting status is more expensive than consular processing.

Form I-485 will cost $1,070 less $85 if biometrics will not be required.

Fee Waiver

Applicants who could not afford to pay the USA green card cost/ fees can have a chance to apply for a fee waiver. A fee waiver is granted to eligible applicants only. You will have to file a Form I-192 if you want to request a fee waiver and Form I-192P for Fee Waiver for Poverty Guidelines. They will be scrutinizing you to know if you are eligible for a fee waiver. Along with your application form, you should send your fee waiver application too. Make sure that you have answered and provided the information correctly.

You should mail your application form and fee waiver form because it`s not allowed online. You should send supporting documents to prove your eligibility on the fee waiver form. Foreign documents should be translated in English complete and accurately. Your translator should sign on every document. You will receive a mail informing you whether your request is granted or denied. An explanation as to why you were denied will be included in the mail.

It is important that you make sure how much you need to pay for the USA green card cost. Check on the latest fees because they could change without prior notice. You will have to pay only to the office and personnel that is authorized by the United States government. Beware of fraud agents saying that they will process your application faster and ask you to pay fees. You have to carefully read each document that you are filling up. Make sure that you have the right document according to your needs of application.