Everything You Need to Know About Form I-912

Are you finding it difficult to meet the high costs related to immigration forms and services? Well, form I-912 can help you in gaining the required waiver of payment if you demonstrate your inability to pay the money successfully.

What Is Form I-912?

Form I-912 is filed to attain a fee waiver if you are unable to meet the costs related to immigration forms and services. This form is provided by the UCSIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services).

Thus, instead of paying immigration fees, you would basically be filing the form and asking for a waiver. But, the process is not as simple as it sounds. If you claim you are incapable of paying the fees, you would also have to prove that you do not have the required money.

If the UCSIS approves your application for a fee waiver, they will continue processing your application without the money. In case of a waiver rejection, your application will be sent back to you. In addition, the UCSIS will notify you that they are unable to process the application without receiving the fee.

Who Is Eligible to File Form I-912?

So, the next logical question is, who is eligible to file form I-912? Before we dive into the details, it is essential to note that only certain applications and petitions are eligible for a fee waiver.

When you file this form, you would have to ensure your service is covered on that list. Also, the only people eligible to claim this waiver are the ones who are actually unable to make the payment. In fact, as an applicant, you would be required to provide supporting documentation demonstrating your inability to pay the fees.

The documentation you have to provide for this purpose should be supportive of one of two criteria. Firstly, either you or your spouse or whoever is the head of the household must be receiving a means-tested benefit. This means you receive a housing benefit, employment allowance, or any other sort of income support.

In the other situation, you are eligible for this waiver if your net household income is at or below 150% of the already established Federal Poverty Guidelines. This is in correspondence to the value at the time of filing the I-912 form. This can be calculated taking into consideration the household size and household income.

How to Fill Out a Form I-912

When you are filling out Form I-912, you should be careful and follow all of the instructions. There are essentially seven parts to the form. Let us go over each of these in more detail.

Part 1 – This is the basic part where you select the category to describe your financial situation.

Part 2 – This part of the form refers to the individual who requires this waiver. If you are filing it for someone else, the necessary information will have to be provided. This will ask for your name details, your registration number, the Social Security Number, the UCSIS account number, etc.

Part 3 – At this point, you are required to fill in the details of the particular form for which you are looking for a fee waiver. Every form comes with a number on the top right corner and the bottom left corner. This is the number you would be required to note in Part 3 of the application.

Part 4 – If you receive a means-tested benefit, you would, at this point, fill in parts 4 and 7 here and skip parts 5 and 6. Attach the necessary proofs here for your benefit.

Part 5 – This part refers to your monthly income. If this value is 150% less than the federal poverty guidelines, this is where you would be filling out the information.

Part 6 – This part refers to the part of the form that talks about your income. Your income may not meet the federal poverty guidelines, but due to some other circumstances, you are unable to pay the fee.

Part 7 – This is the final fee waiver request that the applicant needs to sign off in order to be considered for the fee waiver.

How Much Does it Cost to File an I-912 Form?

As of now, it would cost the applicant a total of $455 to file an I-912 form. Along with that, a biometric fee of $85 would also be required. If you are filing the form online, you would have to pay online. In the situation that you file the form offline or on paper, you could either pay by money order, a personal check, or a cashier’s check. All of these should be payable to the U.S Department of Homeland Security.

One thing to note when you make the payment is that you are actually agreeing to pay the government for service. So be aware that you cannot ask for a refund in any situation. However, if you have never received your Permanent Resident Card, also known as the Green Card, you do not need to pay any filing fees for Form I-912.

Where to File Form I-912

Before we delve into where to file Form I-912, it is important to note that the form is never filed alone. In fact, this form is always filed with the form, file, or application that requires a fee from the applicant. Once you know which particular application is being filed, then you’ll know where the fee waiver form should be sent as well. If you choose to file it online, you can visit the online filing page and file it there. For a paper filing request, you could send the application to the UCSIS.

Conclusion

Form I-912 is essentially used to apply for a fee waiver. All the details in the form should be filled out carefully and appropriately signed. And if you meet the eligibility criteria, you stand a likely chance of actually receiving the waiver.

Frank Gogol

I’m a firm believer that information is the key to financial freedom. On the Stilt Blog, I write about the complex topics — like finance, immigration, and technology — to help immigrants make the most of their lives in the U.S. Our content and brand have been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and more.

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