Fee waiver for i-751

[dawning 212]

Hello helpful VJ members,

My husband and I are getting ready to file removal of conditions for his Green card which expires in January. We are debating the pros and cons of filing a fee waiver as well because money is a little tight. We definitely are below the poverty level, and our children and I (USC spouse) use Medi-Cal (California Medicaid).

The concerns that make me hesitate are two:

1. If I file and they reject, I may perhaps have to pay the higher fee in December when the fees increase, and

2. Could it make them mad or have any negative effect on my husband's residency in the future, or eligibility for citizenship if he decides to naturalize?

I have been searching on here, and haven't found much information about the fee waiver. It would be really helpful to hear from people who are knowledgeable or have recent experience. If anyone doesn't want to publish their experience, they can certainly PM me as well. (I remember there was a case of someone being rude to a person who had requested a fee waiver recently.)

Thank you all very much!

[nightingalejules 678]

Hello helpful VJ members,

My husband and I are getting ready to file removal of conditions for his Green card which expires in January. We are debating the pros and cons of filing a fee waiver as well because money is a little tight. We definitely are below the poverty level, and our children and I (USC spouse) use Medi-Cal (California Medicaid).

The concerns that make me hesitate are two:

1. If I file and they reject, I may perhaps have to pay the higher fee in December when the fees increase, and

2. Could it make them mad or have any negative effect on my husband's residency in the future, or eligibility for citizenship if he decides to naturalize?

I have been searching on here, and haven't found much information about the fee waiver. It would be really helpful to hear from people who are knowledgeable or have recent experience. If anyone doesn't want to publish their experience, they can certainly PM me as well. (I remember there was a case of someone being rude to a person who had requested a fee waiver recently.)

Thank you all very much!

It looks as though there's a form on the USCIS website that lists what they consider to be "poverty line" for this application... Every department seems to have their own idea of what constitutes poverty.

If I were you, I'd go down every list I could find and make sure I qualify under as many categories as possible. Don't worry about making anyone "mad" because you won't. However, if your waiver is denied and the fees go up you will probably have to pay the higher fee, which would suck.

[dawning 212]

It looks as though there's a form on the USCIS website that lists what they consider to be "poverty line" for this application... Every department seems to have their own idea of what constitutes poverty.

If I were you, I'd go down every list I could find and make sure I qualify under as many categories as possible. Don't worry about making anyone "mad" because you won't. However, if your waiver is denied and the fees go up you will probably have to pay the higher fee, which would suck.

Thanks for the input. I agree about the multiple categories being better than one. I am trying to get it out in the next couple of days, so I am hopeful that they would reject, if they are going to, in enough time for me to resend it before December 23rd, but it's possible it won't be that quick.

So you don't think it's possible they would would like of financial abundance against him for future immigration benefits?

[nightingalejules 678]

Thanks for the input. I agree about the multiple categories being better than one. I am trying to get it out in the next couple of days, so I am hopeful that they would reject, if they are going to, in enough time for me to resend it before December 23rd, but it's possible it won't be that quick.

So you don't think it's possible they would would like of financial abundance against him for future immigration benefits?

See, that's the best part! This is the last "immigration benefit" you actually need! Assuming you get approved for the fee waiver, save whatever you've put aside so far for it, put in an extra $5/month for the 10 years the new green card is good for and you'll have enough cash to pay the fees for citizenship before you need to renew his green card again, and then you NEVER have to deal with USCIS or immigration EVER AGAIN! (I have the ridiculous desire to add an "evil laugh" to the end of this post, but it might hurt my credibility!)

All the best to you (and I hope you get the waiver)!

PS, I checked first to make sure Venezuela allows dual citizenship, and it does, so you're all good!

Edited November 15, 2016 by nightingalejules

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

If your income on your last tax return is less than 150% of FPL, you'll get the fee waiver. No negative impact on anything.

https://www.uscis.gov/system/files_force/files/form/i-912p.pdf?download=1

Edited November 15, 2016 by EM_Vandaveer

[dawning 212]

See, that's the best part! This is the last "immigration benefit" you actually need! Assuming you get approved for the fee waiver, save whatever you've put aside so far for it, put in an extra $5/month for the 10 years the new green card is good for and you'll have enough cash to pay the fees for citizenship before you need to renew his green card again, and then you NEVER have to deal with USCIS or immigration EVER AGAIN! (I have the ridiculous desire to add an "evil laugh" to the end of this post, but it might hurt my credibility!)

All the best to you (and I hope you get the waiver)!

PS, I checked first to make sure Venezuela allows dual citizenship, and it does, so you're all good!

If your income on your last tax return is less than 150% of FPL, you'll get the fee waiver. No negative impact on anything.

https://www.uscis.gov/system/files_force/files/form/i-912p.pdf?download=1

Thank you both for the moral support and information. We will give it a try.

[Elvis&Sky 26]

The odds are not in your favor when it comes to file fee waivers. USCIS lives of the money we pay in immigration fees since they don't get federal money, they really don't like when you file a fee waiver and if you do, it better be for a good reason. they don't care how poor you are, if you are a young couple and both are able to work, they assume you somehow can come up with the money, they even reject fee waivers for AOS all the time, that in my opinion is the most expensive fee and the most difficult to pay because only the US citizen is able to work.

You can file the waiver, it won't have a negative financial impact in neither of you if they approve it or reject it, just keep in mind that you have limited time to file the removal of conditions and if they reject it, you will lose valuable time to file again.

[dawning 212]

The odds are not in your favor when it comes to file fee waivers. USCIS lives of the money we pay in immigration fees since they don't get federal money, they really don't like when you file a fee waiver and if you do, it better be for a good reason. they don't care how poor you are, if you are a young couple and both are able to work, they assume you somehow can come up with the money, they even reject fee waivers for AOS all the time, that in my opinion is the most expensive fee and the most difficult to pay because only the US citizen is able to work.

You can file the waiver, it won't have a negative financial impact in neither of you if they approve it or reject it, just keep in mind that you have limited time to file the removal of conditions and if they reject it, you will lose valuable time to file again.

Thanks for the input.

That's what I meant when I said I couldn't find much information on the subject, I see folks like you saying it's almost impossible, others say if your income is low it's a given. Seems like not many people report having applied. That's part of why I posted this, to try to see what different experiences are out there.

I'm still curious to hear other thoughts/perspectives.

Thanks again!

[dawning 212]

I sent of the paperwork yesterday, both the 1-751 and the i-912 (request for free waiver). I wanted to do it sooner but was busy with a lot of unexpected work. I will try to remember to come back and post what happens, or anyone could pm me.

Thank to everyone for their input.

[TexasLove 0]

Hi did you ever get rejected?

[Kim and Jermaine 28]

I'm about to try getting a waiver because I've been out of work due to illness. I was curious if they gave you a waiver?

[highyork10 23]

I applied for a few waiver and thank God I was approved. To be honest it was pretty straight forward. Provide the document (evidence), you WILL get approved. It is simple as that. They even give you many options.

Edited June 20, 2017 by highyork10

[Kim and Jermaine 28]

Thanks for the reply! Blessings 

[CB & FM 43]

On 6/20/2017 at 0:54 AM, highyork10 said:

I applied for a few waiver and thank God I was approved. To be honest it was pretty straight forward. Provide the document (evidence), you WILL get approved. It is simple as that. They even give you many options.

I was researching this and saw your post. Can you tell me your timeline in regards the approval of the fee waiver and then the continuing I-751? I was hoping to see how the fee waiver affects the timing of the NOA1 of the I-751. Thanks.

[CB & FM 43]

On 11/26/2016 at 11:13 PM, dawning said:

I sent of the paperwork yesterday, both the 1-751 and the i-912 (request for free waiver). I wanted to do it sooner but was busy with a lot of unexpected work. I will try to remember to come back and post what happens, or anyone could pm me.

Thank to everyone for their input.

I also am applying and wonder of your experience.