The Department Of Homeland Security logo is displayed at a Citizenship and Immigration Services office in San Diego, California, on Jan. 16, 2026. —Kevin Carter—Getty ImagesThe Trump Administration is seeking to raise the price tag for immigrants applying to become naturalized U.S. citizens by hundreds of dollars.A proposed rule from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed on Monday would significantly increase the cost of filing a form immigrants must submit to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to apply for citizenship. Under the rule, the price of filing Form N-400 by paper would rise by 75%, from $760 to $1,330, and the cost of submitting the form online would increase by 80%, from $710 to $1,280.In addition, the proposal would end the reduced fee option for Form N-400, which is currently available to immigrants whose household income is at or under 400% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. DHS is also proposing ending fee waivers for the form. Current and former military service members who are applying to become naturalized citizens, though, are still eligible for fee exemptions.It’s not yet clear when or if the increases would go into effect; the proposed rule would still have to go through a process—including a period during which the public is permitted to submit their opinions on the proposal—before it could be enacted.DHS said that the proposed changes to the filing fees “would recover the full costs associated with adjudicating these forms.” The agency went on to say that the current fees “do not recover the full cost of thoroughly adjudicating applications for naturalization, including necessary screening and vetting checks, which USCIS is continuously enhancing consistent with the President’s Executive Orders.”The proposal comes as Trump has made cracking down on both legal and illegal immigration a key focus of his second term agenda. As part of his hardline approach to the issue, his Administration has sought to restrict legal immigration pathways and even moved to strip the citizenship of more than two dozen naturalized Americans so far this year—an unprecedented move that stirred controversy among immigration advocates and legal experts.“DHS now believes aliens filing these forms should pay the full cost of adjudication,” the proposed rule reads. “U.S. citizenship is the most meaningful immigration benefit the United States can bestow on an alien. However, keeping the fees for Form N-400 … below cost requires DHS to shift the costs not covered by those fees to the fees paid for other forms. DHS no longer believes that the importance of naturalization sufficiently justifies funding naturalization from the fees paid for other immigration benefits.”DHS acknowledged that this proposed fee change diverges from the approach of past Administrations.“Although DHS has historically limited the fees for Form N-400 … to fulfill previous administrations’ priorities of encouraging naturalization … DHS no longer believes naturalization benefit requests should get lower fees at the potential expense of other immigration benefits,” the proposed rule reads.Immigration experts expressed concerns that, should the proposed rule go into effect, it would increase the financial burden on people seeking U.S. citizenship, potentially putting naturalization out of reach for some immigrants.“For generations, the U.S. government deliberate[ly] kept citizenship application fees low in an effort to encourage the millions of people with green cards to apply,” Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, said in a post on X on Monday. “No longer.”