VisaJourney.com > Fee Waiver for I-175 removal of conditions.

Dannysgirl

Jul 31 2007, 01:30 PM

Hi,

I have been posting recently regarding my application to remove conditions on my greencard. I have yet to do so and the second anniversary of the receipt of my green card will be coming up in September. I was going to file it this week but how now just found out that the fee for doing so is a ridiculous $545 and as I have been out of work and on unemployment for about four months there is no way I will be able to submit it at the moment.
I considered filing for a fee waiver but have read that if you do so and are rejected you have to file the whole thing again. I'm sure by that time my original green card will have expired. Will the initial filing count if I file it with a request for a fee waiver?

Also what are the chances of getting a waiver? I would be lying if I said I was experiencing 'extreme hardship' but we are only barely keeping our heads above water and paying the mortgage at the moment. honestly what is the likelihood of me getting a waiver. Should I just bite the bullet and take out a loan or something?

Thanks in advance.

Gaby&Talbert

Jul 31 2007, 02:22 PM

QUOTE(Dannysgirl @ Jul 31 2007, 01:30 PM)

Hi,

I have been posting recently regarding my application to remove conditions on my greencard. I have yet to do so and the second anniversary of the receipt of my green card will be coming up in September. I was going to file it this week but how now just found out that the fee for doing so is a ridiculous $545 and as I have been out of work and on unemployment for about four months there is no way I will be able to submit it at the moment.
I considered filing for a fee waiver but have read that if you do so and are rejected you have to file the whole thing again. I'm sure by that time my original green card will have expired. Will the initial filing count if I file it with a request for a fee waiver?

Also what are the chances of getting a waiver? I would be lying if I said I was experiencing 'extreme hardship' but we are only barely keeping our heads above water and paying the mortgage at the moment. honestly what is the likelihood of me getting a waiver. Should I just bite the bullet and take out a loan or something?

Thanks in advance.

I am curious what part of the country do you live where you can't find a job for 4 months? I am not being critical, only curious. Are there jobs available that are part time just to save enough for removal of conditions?

diadromous mermaid

Jul 31 2007, 02:55 PM

QUOTE(Dannysgirl @ Jul 31 2007, 02:30 PM)

Hi,

I have been posting recently regarding my application to remove conditions on my greencard. I have yet to do so and the second anniversary of the receipt of my green card will be coming up in September. I was going to file it this week but how now just found out that the fee for doing so is a ridiculous $545 and as I have been out of work and on unemployment for about four months there is no way I will be able to submit it at the moment.
I considered filing for a fee waiver but have read that if you do so and are rejected you have to file the whole thing again. I'm sure by that time my original green card will have expired. Will the initial filing count if I file it with a request for a fee waiver?

Also what are the chances of getting a waiver? I would be lying if I said I was experiencing 'extreme hardship' but we are only barely keeping our heads above water and paying the mortgage at the moment. honestly what is the likelihood of me getting a waiver. Should I just bite the bullet and take out a loan or something?

Thanks in advance.

Do any of these circumstances apply?

QUOTE

<H2 class=MsoNormal>Fee Waiver GuidanceUSCIS Officers currently have broad discretion in granting fee waivers under 8 CFR 103.7©. The field guidance, outlined below, will provide USCIS Officers with guidelines, which delineate factors, which may be considered when determining if a fee waiver is justified. These guidelines apply to those applications, petitions, motions, and requests filing fees contained in 8 CFR 103.7(

. There are certain applications and petitions listed in 103.7(

, which are exempt from fee waivers or have specific fee exemptions and therefore would not fall under these fee waiver guidelines.

The field guidance is not exhaustive as USCIS Officers will evaluate all factors, circumstances, and evidence supplied by the individual in support of a fee waiver request before making a determination. The Officer will take note of any evidence or documentation regarding the individual’s living arrangements in the United States; the individual’s extraordinary expenditures or those of his dependents residing in the United States; monetary contributions for the payment of monthly expenses received from adult children, dependents, and other people who are living in the individual’s household, etc.; and other expenses for which the individual is responsible.

An individual does not automatically qualify for a fee waiver based on any one particular situation. Each case is unique and will be considered upon it’s own merits. A fee waiver request may be granted when it has been established to the satisfaction of the USCIS Officer with jurisdiction over the request that the individual is unable to pay the fee.

In all fee waiver requests applicants are required to demonstrate an "inability to pay." In determining â€œinability to pay,â€ USCIS Officers may consider the following situations and criteria regarding the applicant:

Whether the individual has demonstrated that within the last 180 days, he or she qualified for or received a â€œfederal means-tested public benefitâ€. This may include, but is not limited to, Food Stamps, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, and Temporary Assistance of Needy Families or other public benefit.

NOTE: Each agency’s public benefits are determined based on a unique set of criteria. Therefore, even though an individual has qualified for another agency’s benefits, it should only be one of the factors in determining the USCIS fee waiver request and should not be used as a definitive factor.

Whether the individual has demonstrated that his or her household income, on which taxes were paid for the most recent tax year, is at or below the poverty level contained in the most recent poverty guidelines revised annually by the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ â€œPoverty Guidelinesâ€.
Whether the individual is elderly (age 65 and over, at the time the fee request is submitted).
Whether the individual is disabled. Applicant should submit verification of disability (see below, How To Apply for a Fee Waiver.)
The age and number of dependents in the individual’s family’s household who are seeking derivative status or benefits concurrently with the principal applicant or beneficiary.
Humanitarian or compassionate reasons, either temporary or permanent, which justify a granting of a fee waiver request. For example: the applicant is temporarily destitute; the applicant does not own, possess, or control assets sufficient to pay the fee without a showing of substantial hardship; or an applicant is on a fixed income and confined to a nursing home.
Any other evidence or factors that the USCIS Officer believe establishes an applicant or petitioner’s inability to pay the required filing fees.

Applicants should be aware that certain immigration benefits have income requirements or require evidence that the applicant or beneficiary is not likely to become a public charge (for example: nonimmigrant visa petitions, family-based visa petitions, classifying an orphan as an immediate relative, employment-based visa petitions, employment authorizations, travel documents, and advance parole.)

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<H2 class=MsoNormal>Documentation</H2>Documentation, such as the suggested examples listed below, may be submitted to provide proof of the "inability to pay":

Proof of living arrangements (i.e. living with relatives, living in the individual’s own house, apartment, etc.), and evidence of whether the individual’s dependents are residing in his or her household.
Evidence of current employment or self-employment such as recent pay statements, W-2 forms, statement(s) from the individual’s employer(s) on business stationary showing salary or wages paid, income tax returns (proof of filing of a tax return).
Mortgage payment receipts, rent receipts, food and clothing receipts, utility bills (such as gas, electricity, telephone, water), child or elder care receipts, tuition bills, transportation expense receipts, medical expense receipts, and proof of other essential expenditures.
Any other proof of essential expenditures.
Proof that verifies the individual’s disability. The individual may provide proof of his or her disability by submitting documentation showing that the disability has been previously determined by the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Defense (DOD), or other appropriate federal agency.
Proof of the individual’s extraordinary expenditures or his or her dependents residing in the United States. Essential extraordinary expenses are those which do not occur on a monthly basis but which are necessary for the well being of the individual or his or her dependents.
Proof that the individual has, within the last 6 months, qualified for and/or received a Federal â€œmeans-tested public benefit".
Documentation to show all assets owned, possessed, or controlled by the individual or by his or her dependents.
Documentation establishing other financial support or subsidies--such as parental support, alimony, child support, educational scholarships, and fellowships, pensions, Social Security or Veterans Benefits, etc. This includes monetary contributions for the payment of monthly expenses received from adult children, dependents, and other people who are living in the individual’s household, etc
Documentation of debts and liabilities--what is owed on any outstanding loans, credit cards, etc. by the individual and his or her dependents, and any other expenses the individual is responsible for (i.e. insurance, medical/dental bills, etc.).

How To Apply for a Fee Waiver

[size="2"]To apply for a fee waiver, an applicant must submit an affidavit—or unsworn declaration that is signed and dated and includes the statement: â€œI declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correctâ€—requesting a fee waiver and stating the reasons why he/she is unable to pay the filing fee.
The affidavit and any supporting documentation (see above, Documentation) must be submitted along with the benefit application or petition.
To facilitate the processing of fee waiver requests, applicants should write in large print â€œFee Waiver Requestâ€ on the outside of the mailing envelope containing their application or petition and fee waiver request, as well as at the top of their affidavit and each page of their supporting information.
If a fee waiver request is denied, the entire application package will be returned to the applicant, who must then begin the application process again by re-filing for the benefit with the appropriate fee.

This page can be found at http://www.uscis.gov/feewaiver

Sid and Nancy

Jul 31 2007, 04:03 PM

QUOTE(Dannysgirl @ Jul 31 2007, 11:30 AM)

Also what are the chances of getting a waiver? I would be lying if I said I was experiencing 'extreme hardship' but we are only barely keeping our heads above water and paying the mortgage at the moment. honestly what is the likelihood of me getting a waiver. Should I just bite the bullet and take out a loan or something?

Thanks in advance.

USCIS are inconsistent in granting waivers. In my own case, when I filed AOS, we were dirt poor, but not poor enough, I suppose - our waiver got denied. We literally had no money for anything except bills and basic food items. You can try for a waiver, but if they deny it and send your package back to you, your initial filing will not count - it would be as if you ddin't file at all. You will have to re-file, and I wouldn't risk missing the deadline.

Dannysgirl

Jul 31 2007, 05:54 PM

I am curious what part of the country do you live where you can't find a job for 4 months? I am not being critical, only curious. Are there jobs available that are part time just to save enough for removal of conditions?
[/quote]

The main issue with my being unable to find employment is the fact that I don't drive, this has been quite a factor in getting a job. The only jobs I seem to be able to get to at the moment pay absolute peanuts and I would actually be worse off than I would be on unemployment. So I'm in a bit of a predicament at the moment.