USCIS Fee Waiver (Form I-912) for Guatemalans: Eligible Forms, Income Proof and Guatemalan Documents (2026)

This page is general information, not legal advice. USCIS fee rules change. Before filing, check the USCIS Form I-912 page yourself. For your own case, use a licensed immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative, not a notario.

Quick summary (checked October 15, 2026): Form I-912 is the USCIS request for a fee waiver. The fee schedule lists its general filing fee as $0. It works only for forms on the USCIS eligible list, such as N-400, I-90, I-751 and most I-765 work permits. The USCIS I-912 page rules out a fee waiver for DACA. USCIS also says it cannot waive any fees required by H.R.-1 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Pub. L. 119-21). You qualify through a means-tested benefit, household income at or below 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, or financial hardship. File the I-912 together with the form it covers, never afterward. Every Spanish-language Guatemalan document you attach needs a full, certified English translation.

This page covers which forms qualify and what evidence each route needs. It also covers how a Guatemalan household documents it, from two last names to RENAP certificates and translations.

What Form I-912 is, and the current edition

USCIS uses Form I-912 to decide whether to waive the fee for certain immigration forms and services when you show you cannot pay. Key points from USCIS (I-912 page last reviewed 06/05/2026):

• Filing fee: USCIS lists Form I-912 general filing at $0 in its fee schedule, Form G-1055 (G-1055 page last reviewed 10/07/2026).
• Edition: The current edition is dated 07/22/25. USCIS also accepts prior editions, or a written request instead of the form. USCIS says you can find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions.
• Signature: USCIS will reject an unsigned I-912. You must sign it yourself. An eligible representative may sign for you only if you are under 14 years of age or mentally incompetent.

Which forms qualify

USCIS says it may approve fee waivers only for certain forms or certain types of requests on a form. The table below shows a selection from that list. The full list is on the USCIS I-912 page.

USCIS also allows fee waiver requests for applications or petitions tied to these categories:

• a battered spouse of an A, G, E-3 or H nonimmigrant (Form I-290B);
• a battered spouse or child of a permanent resident or U.S. citizen under INA 240A(b)(2);
• T nonimmigrant status;
• TPS recipients;
• U nonimmigrant status;
• VAWA self-petitioners.

Three ways to qualify

For the hardship route, the I-912 instructions list these documents by type of circumstance:

• medical bills for yourself, a spouse, a child or a parent;
• a termination letter or proof of unemployment benefits;
• pay statements showing a change in income;
• an eviction letter;
• a letter from homeless shelter services, or a statement of lack of income;
• military deployment orders;
• FEMA or other insurance or assistance documents;
• utility and mortgage bills;
• documentation of income, or of substantial financial losses;
• a VAWA, T or U receipt notice;
• a divorce decree or death certificate, with documentation of the income loss.

Documenting it as a Guatemalan household

The USCIS form page, instructions and Policy Manual sections used for this page show no Guatemala-specific fee waiver rule. Within those sources, the same rules apply to everyone. Guatemalan paperwork runs into them in four places.

Translations: full, certified, never a summary

USCIS requires a full English translation of any foreign-language document. The translator must certify three things:

• the translation is complete;
• the translation is accurate;
• the translator is competent to translate from the foreign language into English.

The USCIS Policy Manual is blunt about shortcuts: “A summary of a document prepared by a translator is unacceptable” (it cites 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3)). This matters most on the hardship route. If you attach a hospital bill for a parent in Guatemala, or a Guatemalan death certificate or divorce decree, the whole document must be translated.

The USCIS text quoted here asks for that certification. It does not mention a Guatemalan traductor jurado.

RENAP death certificates for the hardship route

Suppose your hardship comes from the death of a family member in Guatemala. The U.S. State Department’s Guatemala civil-documents page says death certificates come from RENAP (National Registry of Persons), not from the municipality. RENAP’s online certificate request by name asks for the person’s full name and the date of the event (birth, marriage, death, among others). The USCIS instructions pair a death certificate with documentation of the income loss, so the certificate alone is not the whole case.

Whose benefit can count on the means-tested route

The USCIS I-912 page says the evidence for the means-tested route must show that one of these people is currently receiving the benefit:

• you;
• your spouse;
• your parent (if you are under 21 or disabled);
• your sibling;
• your child living with you.

This page does not reproduce every condition the Form I-912 instructions may attach to each relative. Before relying on a relative’s benefit, read the instructions for that relative or ask an accredited representative.

Household size is a separate question that matters for the income route. The USCIS sources used for this page do not say how relatives you support in Guatemala count toward household size. Do not assume they do. Check the Form I-912 instructions or ask an accredited representative before you list them.

How to file

1. Prepare the underlying form first. USCIS’s instruction is direct: “Do not submit your Form I-912 without a completed application or petition”.
2. Put everything in one package. Attach the I-912 and all supporting documents to the form you want waived. For example, with an N-400 you mail the N-400, the I-912 and the evidence together, to the address in the N-400 instructions.
3. Choose paper or online. Paper works for every eligible form. For certain eligible forms, you can instead upload a completed PDF of the I-912 through your USCIS online account.
4. Do not send it later. USCIS says you cannot submit Form I-912 after it has received the application or petition the waiver is for.
5. Sign it. An unsigned I-912 is rejected.

If USCIS denies the waiver

The denial notice explains how to resubmit. For certain benefits you may have only a limited time to refile with the proper fee. That deadline comes from the instructions of the underlying form, not from the I-912. Read the underlying form’s instructions as soon as the denial arrives.

What this page does not cover

This page includes only what the official sources show. Those sources did not establish:

• a processing time for fee waiver decisions;
• the household dollar thresholds by household size;
• any apostille requirement for this filing.

The USCIS rules used here deal with translation only. They do not tell you whether an apostille is needed, so ask your representative instead of assuming.

Sources

• USCIS, Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver (page last reviewed 06/05/2026; fetched October 15, 2026)
• USCIS, Form I-912 Instructions, edition 07/22/25 (Part 5 income rule, hardship documentation, denial and resubmission, name entry)
• USCIS, Form G-1055, Fee Schedule (page last reviewed 10/07/2026)
• USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 1, Part E, Chapter 6 (translations)
• U.S. Department of State, Guatemala reciprocity and civil documents
• RENAP, Solicitud de certificaciones en línea por nombre