Do You Have to Pay for a Biometrics Appointment?

For nearly every USCIS application, there is no separate biometrics appointment fee to pay. Since April 1, 2024, the cost of biometric services has been built into the main filing fee, so when you pay to file your green card, naturalization, or work permit application, the fingerprints, photograph, and signature collection is already covered. Two narrow exceptions still carry a standalone $30 biometrics charge: Temporary Protected Status applicants filing Form I-821, and people submitting certain forms through the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR-40, EOIR-42A, and EOIR-42B).¹

How the Cost Is Charged Now

Before April 2024, USCIS added an $85 biometrics fee on top of the filing fee for most applications. That separate charge is gone for the vast majority of forms. The biometrics work still happens, but the money is collected once, as part of the filing fee you already send in with your petition.

If you are filing for TPS or one of the EOIR forms listed above, budget for the extra $30 per person on top of the underlying filing fee.¹ Everyone else pays only the filing fee for their form.

Fee Waivers and Reduced Fees

Because biometrics is bundled into the filing fee, a waiver of the filing fee also covers the biometrics cost. You can request a waiver on Form I-912 if you meet one of three criteria: you or a qualifying family member currently receives a means-tested public benefit, your household income is at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, or you are experiencing extreme financial hardship such as unexpected medical bills, job loss, or homelessness.²

For naturalization, applicants with household income between 150% and 400% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines can apply for a reduced filing fee of $380 instead of the full amount. Biometrics is included in that reduced fee, so nothing extra is due.¹

Some applicants pay nothing at all. VAWA self-petitioners and their derivatives pay $0 to file for adjustment of status, employment authorization, and travel documents. Military members who served honorably on active duty also qualify for $0 filing fees on several forms.³

The Supplemental Fees That Cannot Be Waived

If you are filing for asylum, work authorization tied to asylum or parole, or TPS, there is another layer of cost to know about. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R.1), which took effect July 4, 2025, created supplemental immigration fees that sit on top of regular USCIS filing fees. Unlike ordinary USCIS fees, these cannot be waived or reduced for any reason.⁴

Key amounts for fiscal year 2025:

Asylum application (Form I-589): $100 at filing, plus $100 for each calendar year the application remains pending.
Initial work permit for asylum applicants: $550 on top of the regular filing fee.
Renewal work permit for asylum applicants: $275 on top of the regular filing fee.
Initial work permit for parolees: $550 on top of the regular filing fee.
Initial work permit for TPS holders: $550 on top of the regular filing fee.
TPS initial registration (Form I-821): $525 on top of the existing $50 filing fee and $30 biometrics fee.

These amounts adjust for inflation each fiscal year. If your application is subject to both a regular USCIS fee and an H.R.1 supplemental fee, a waiver can reduce or eliminate the USCIS portion, but the supplemental amount stays.⁵

What You Are Paying For

USCIS collects biometrics from most people applying for benefits that let them stay in the United States for more than a year. That covers green card applicants, naturalization applicants, employment authorization applicants, and many others. The fingerprints, photograph, and signature are run against FBI and Department of Homeland Security databases, and the photo and signature also go onto any immigration documents USCIS issues to you.⁶

Children under 14 generally do not need to provide fingerprints or a photograph. Background checks with fingerprint and name checks are conducted on applicants 14 and older.⁶ There is no longer a top-end age exemption; USCIS removed the old carve-out for naturalization applicants 75 and older in 2017.

After USCIS accepts your application, they mail you a Form I-797C appointment notice with the date, time, and location of your appointment at a local Application Support Center. Bring the notice and a valid, unexpired photo ID such as a passport, Permanent Resident Card, or driver’s license. If you received more than one appointment notice, bring all of them.⁷

The appointment itself is short. An officer verifies your identity, takes digital fingerprints of all ten fingers, captures a photograph, and collects your digital signature. By signing, you are attesting under penalty of perjury that everything in your application was complete and correct at the time you filed. Most appointments take 15 to 30 minutes.⁷

If a disability affects your ability to attend or participate, you can request an accommodation through the USCIS e-Request system. You will need your receipt number, appointment notice, email address, and phone number. Each appointment requires a separate request. Without a receipt number, call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283.⁸

The Real Cost of Missing Your Appointment

Skipping a biometrics appointment is where the money question actually bites. If you cannot make your scheduled time, reschedule through your USCIS online account before the appointment, and be ready to show good cause. Online rescheduling requests must be submitted at least 12 hours in advance. Inside that 12-hour window, or after you have already missed it, call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833).⁷

The consequence of a no-show is spelled out in federal regulation. If you fail to appear and USCIS has not received a rescheduling request or change of address by your appointment time, your application is treated as abandoned and denied.⁹ You lose the filing fee you paid, and you have to start over. Asylum applicants filing Form I-589 are held to a different standard: dismissal requires that the failure to appear resulted from exceptional circumstances.¹⁰

So the direct answer stays simple: for most filers, no separate check to write for biometrics. The number to watch is the filing fee itself, plus any H.R.1 supplemental fee that attaches to your form type, and the filing fee you have already paid if you skip the appointment without rescheduling.

1
USCIS. 2024 Final Fee Rule
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-912, Instructions for Request for Fee Waiver
3
USCIS. G-1055 Fee Schedule
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Additional Information on Filing a Fee Waiver
5
Federal Register. USCIS Immigration Fees Required by HR-1 Reconciliation Bill
6
Department of Homeland Security. Privacy Impact Assessment for the Immigration Benefits Background Check Systems
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Preparing for Your Biometric Services Appointment
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Disability Accommodations for Appointments
9
eCFR. 8 CFR 103.2 – Submission and Adjudication of Benefit Requests
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Application Support Center Reschedule Requests and Missed Appointments