People who seek to apply for immigration benefits will have to file the respective USCIS forms that suit their needs and the USCIS charges filing fees for such applications and it will not process applications that are filed without the required filing fees. In certain circumstances, you may not be able to afford the filing fee and in such cases, you may request the USCIS to waive the filing fee and you need to prove that you are unable to pay the required filing fee, in order to be taken into consideration for a fee waiver. However, fees waivers may not be granted for all types of USCIS forms and the USCIS will carefully review your request for a fee waiver and grant you a waiver only if you are eligible.
If you cannot pay the form filing fee, to make sure that a waiver is available for the USCIS form that you are filing, you will have to go through the instructions for Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver. If a waiver is available, you may file Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver or you can also send a written request. You must file the USCIS form for which you are applying for a fee waiver along with your fee waiver request. Though you can e-file USCIS forms, you cannot file the USCIS forms for which you are requesting fee waivers, online and you must only file the paper versions of such forms.
In order to become eligible for a fee waiver, you need to prove that you are encountering a financial misfortune and that your family income is below the poverty level. Filing From I-912 alone may not be sufficient and you must submit supporting documents along with your fee waiver request, to prove that your financial situation is preventing you from paying the form filing fee. You should also provide information about the federal benefits that you are receiving and about the means-tested benefits. Based on the information that you provide, USCIS will decide on your request and grant you a fee waiver, if you are found to be eligible.