I-601A Waiver Fee: Cost, Payment, and Fee Waivers

The I-601A waiver fee is $795, and that single payment covers both USCIS’s review of your application and the biometric services appointment that follows.¹ There is no separate biometric charge. If you cannot afford the fee, you can request a fee waiver on Form I-912. Anything you may have read about a $715 filing fee plus a $30 biometric fee is out of date: the 2024 USCIS fee rule combined the two and raised the total.²

What the $795 Covers

The fee pays for USCIS’s administrative processing of the Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver and the biometrics appointment where you provide fingerprints and photographs for the background check.¹ Under the old fee structure, applicants paid $715 for the filing plus a $30 biometric fee. The 2024 rule folded those into a single charge and eliminated the separate biometric fee for nearly every immigration form, keeping it only for a small number of Temporary Protected Status and immigration court filings.²

USCIS is strict about the exact amount. Submit the wrong figure and the agency rejects the entire package without reviewing it. Fees are adjusted from time to time, so confirm the current amount on the official fee schedule before you mail anything.³

Each applicant pays the full $795. Spouses and children of the principal beneficiary who file their own I-601A each pay their own fee.⁴

How to Pay

USCIS no longer accepts personal checks, business checks, money orders, or cashier’s checks for paper-filed forms. The only accepted payment methods are:³

Credit, debit, or prepaid card, using Form G-1450.
A direct bank transfer using Form G-1650 (ACH transaction).

The card-payment change took full effect in late 2025.⁵

If you pay by card, fill out Form G-1450 with the cardholder’s name, card number, expiration date, and the exact authorized amount. Check the details closely. USCIS will not attempt a second charge if the card is declined, and a declined card means the entire application gets rejected.⁶ Make sure the card has enough available credit before mailing and that it will not expire during the weeks USCIS may take to process the payment.

Fee Waiver Options

If you cannot afford the $795, file Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver, together with your I-601A. USCIS evaluates fee waiver requests under three separate categories, and you only need to qualify under one.⁷

Means-Tested Benefit

You qualify if you, your spouse, your parent (when you are under 21 or disabled), a sibling, or a child living with you currently receives a means-tested government benefit. Medicaid, SNAP, and Supplemental Security Income all count. Your documentation must include the name of the person receiving the benefit, the issuing agency, the type of benefit, and proof that it is currently active. A recently dated letter showing effective dates or a renewal period is enough.⁷

Income at or Below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines

You qualify if your total adjusted gross household income is at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines at the time you file. For 2026, that threshold is $23,475 for a household of one and $48,225 for a household of four in the 48 contiguous states and D.C. Submit your most recent federal tax return. If you did not file a return, submit consecutive pay stubs covering at least the past month, a W-2, or an SSA-1099.⁸

Financial Hardship

The third path covers cases where your income is above the poverty threshold but unexpected circumstances make paying impossible. Large medical bills, a sudden job loss, or extraordinary expenses tied to a disability can all qualify. This category demands the most documentation: financial statements, an explanation of why the payment would cause severe deprivation, and supporting records like hospital bills or a termination letter. It is the hardest of the three to win because the standard is subjective.

Other Costs You Should Budget For

The $795 is only the USCIS piece. By the time you file the I-601A, you will already have paid other fees, and more costs sit around the filing that you should plan for.

Department of State immigrant visa processing fee: $325 for family-based and employment-based cases. You must pay this before filing the I-601A, and USCIS requires that the payment status show “Paid.”⁹
Affidavit of Support review fee: $120, paid to the Department of State during consular processing for the financial sponsorship documents.
Attorney fees. Most immigration attorneys charge several thousand dollars to prepare an I-601A package, with most of the work going toward the extreme hardship evidence rather than the form itself. Rates vary widely by region and case complexity.
Supporting evidence costs. Medical evaluations, psychological assessments, country-conditions expert letters, certified translations, and document gathering add up. A psychological evaluation alone from a licensed professional can run several hundred dollars.

Realistic all-in costs including USCIS fees, State Department fees, legal representation, and evidence preparation are substantially higher than the filing fee alone. Planning for those expenses early prevents the kind of scramble that leads to incomplete filings.

Before You Pay: Confirm You’re Eligible to File

USCIS will not refund the $795 if it rejects or denies your application. Confirm you meet the basic eligibility requirements before you send the money.⁴

You must be physically present in the United States when you file.
You must be at least 17 years old.
You must have a pending immigrant visa case with the Department of State: an approved immigrant petition (Form I-130, I-140, or I-360), or selection in the Diversity Visa Program, with the immigrant visa processing fee already paid.
You must believe your only ground of inadmissibility is unlawful presence of 180 days or more. Other grounds, such as certain criminal issues, fraud, or a prior deportation, fall outside the I-601A.

Several situations make you ineligible, and USCIS will deny the application if any of these apply:⁴

You have a Form I-485, Application to Adjust Status, pending with USCIS.
You are in active removal proceedings that have not been administratively closed.¹⁰
You have a final order of removal, exclusion, or deportation, including an in absentia order, unless USCIS has already granted permission to reapply for admission.
DHS has reinstated a prior removal order against you before you file or while your application is pending.

One boundary worth noting: the I-601A only waives unlawful presence. It does not waive other inadmissibility grounds, and USCIS will not refund the fee if your case turns out to involve them.

What Happens After You Pay

Once the USCIS lockbox receives your package and processes your payment, USCIS mails Form I-797C, Notice of Action, confirming receipt.¹¹ The notice carries a 13-character receipt number in the upper left that you can use to track your case at the USCIS case status portal. Keep it. You will need it at your biometrics appointment.

Shortly after the receipt notice, a separate appointment notice tells you when and where to appear at a USCIS Application Support Center for fingerprints and photographs. Bring the appointment notice, any additional appointment notices you received, and a valid photo ID such as a passport or driver’s license.¹² Missing biometrics without rescheduling can result in denial.

Processing times fluctuate. USCIS publishes estimates on its website, but I-601A cases commonly take well over a year and sometimes stretch past two years depending on caseload. Check the USCIS processing times page periodically using the service center on your receipt notice for the most current estimate for your case.

If a New Filing Becomes Necessary

If USCIS denies your I-601A, you cannot appeal or file a motion to reopen or reconsider. You can file a brand-new I-601A with the full $795 fee, provided your immigrant visa case is still pending with the Department of State and you still meet the eligibility requirements.¹⁰ Each new filing means paying the fee again, so treat the first attempt as your best shot rather than a test run.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Form G-1055 – Fee Schedule
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 2024 Final Fee Rule
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-601A, Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-601A Instructions
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Modernize Fee Payments with Electronic Funds
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Pay With a Credit Card by Mail
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-912, Request for Fee Waiver
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Request for Fee Waiver
9
U.S. Department of State. Fees for Visa Services
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797C, Notice of Action
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Preparing for Your Biometric Services Appointment