II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1862 

To limit the fees charged and collected from applicants for naturalization 

and related benefits based on poverty, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 13, 2019 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. 

MURRAY, Ms. HARRIS, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. HIRONO, and Ms. ROSEN) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To limit the fees charged and collected from applicants for 

naturalization and related benefits based on poverty, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Citizenship Afford5 ability Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PERMANENT FULL AND PARTIAL INCOME-BASED 

7 NATURALIZATION FEE WAIVERS. 

8 Section 344(b) of the Immigration and Nationality 

9 Act (8 U.S.C. 1455(b)) is amended— 


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•S 1862 IS

1 (1) in the enumerator, by striking ‘‘(b)’’ and in2 serting ‘‘(b)(1)’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Act or 

5 any other law, the following fee waivers shall apply: 

6 ‘‘(A) In the case of an alien whose income is 

7 less than 150 percent of the Federal poverty line, no 

8 fee shall be charged or collected for— 

9 ‘‘(i) the filing of an application for natu10 ralization or the issuance of a certificate of nat11 uralization upon admission to citizenship; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the filing of an application to preserve 

13 residence for naturalization purposes; 

14 ‘‘(iii) the filing of an application for a re15 placement naturalization or citizenship docu16 ment; 

17 ‘‘(iv) the filing of an application for citi18 zenship and issuance of certificate of citizenship 

19 under section 322 (Form N–600K); 

20 ‘‘(v) the filing of an application for certifi21 cate of citizenship (Form N–600); or 

22 ‘‘(vi) a biometrics capture or background 

23 check associated with any application described 

24 in clauses (i), (ii), (iii), and (iv). 


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1 ‘‘(B) In the case of an alien whose income is 

2 less than 250 percent of the Federal poverty line, 

3 not more than 50 percent of the applicable fee shall 

4 be charged or collected for— 

5 ‘‘(i) the filing of an application for natu6 ralization or the issuance of a certificate of nat7 uralization upon admission to citizenship; 

8 ‘‘(ii) the filing of an application to preserve 

9 residence for naturalization purposes; 

10 ‘‘(iii) the filing of an application for a re11 placement naturalization or citizenship docu12 ment; 

13 ‘‘(iv) the filing of an application for citi14 zenship and issuance of certificate of citizenship 

15 under section 322 (Form N–600K); 

16 ‘‘(v) the filing of an application for certifi17 cate of citizenship (Form N–600); or 

18 ‘‘(vi) a biometrics capture or background 

19 check associated with any application described 

20 in clauses (i), (ii), (iii), and (iv). 

21 ‘‘(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 

22 Secretary of Homeland Security shall consider the receipt 

23 of means-tested benefits as a criterion for the purpose of 

24 demonstrating eligibility for a fee waiver under paragraph 

25 (2). 


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1 ‘‘(4) In this subsection, the term ‘Federal poverty 

2 line’ has the meaning given such term by the Director of 

3 the Office of Management and Budget, as revised annually 

4 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in ac5 cordance with section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget Rec6 onciliation Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 9902).’’. 

Æ 


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