I-601 Hardship Waiver Costs

The costs for applying for an I-601 hardship waiver can be grouped into three categories: government application fees, waiver package preparation costs, and attorney fees.

I-601 Government Application Fees

$585     I-601 application fee

Waiver Package Preparation Costs

Supporting document costs: You may experience costs associated with obtaining the supporting documents needed for your waiver application. These costs vary on a case-by-case basis.

Translation costs: All documents submitted as part of your package must either be in English or must have an English translation. These costs will vary depending on how many documents you need to have translated and the fees charged by your translator.

Copy costs: These costs can add up as you may find that you need to copy hundreds of pages of documents. Always make sure that you keep a copy of anything that you submit to the government.

Postage costs: No matter how you mail your package, you’ll need to pay for the postage costs.

Expert witness fees: Depending on your situation, you may need to hire expert witnesses to prepare reports to support your case. For example, for some waiver cases it can be helpful to include an evaluation by a psychologist, counselor or licensed social worker to help demonstrate the severity of the emotional hardship that is being experienced. Other cases can benefit from a report by a country condition expert that explains in detail the situation in the foreign country and why the US citizen or permanent resident family member cannot relocate there.

Lawyer Fees

Although you are not required to hire an immigration lawyer to assist you with your waiver application, many people find the assistance of an immigration lawyer to be very helpful. The information on this website and in the Immigration Waiver Guide will help you decide whether to hire an immigration lawyer to assist you with your application. Lawyer fees will vary from lawyer to lawyer. The complexity of the issues in your case will also impact the lawyer fees associated with your case.

I strongly recommend that you focus your search for a lawyer on finding the best immigration lawyer for your case, not just on trying to find the lowest lawyer fee possible. The knowledge and skill of your immigration lawyer are very important in a hardship waiver application. Focusing on the lawyer fee may lead you to overlook the lawyer who could best represent you and give you the best chance of winning your case.

Other Costs Associated With The I-601 Hardship Waiver Process

In addition to the above costs and fees, you may have other costs associated with your hardship waiver application. For example, the costs listed above do not include the costs of applying for an immigrant visa or adjustment of status. Each of these processes will have their own government filing fees and other costs. In addition, if you are applying for a waiver while in immigration court proceedings, you may experience additional costs associated with the immigration court hearings.

Assuming that the I-601 hardship waiver application is approved, you may also need to budget for travel costs to be able to return to the United States.