Sponsors (4)
The bill helps disaster survivors (including immigrants and low-income families) by waiving fees and improving notice for replacing critical documents and increases program transparency, but it narrows eligibility, imposes agency workload, and carries modest fiscal costs for taxpayers.
Disaster-affected individuals and households (including low-income people and parents/families) can have fees waived to replace destroyed critical documents, reducing out-of-pocket costs when rebuilding legal identity or records after a declared major disaster.
Immigrants who lose visas, passports, or other immigration documents during a declared major disaster gain clearer access to fee relief because USCIS and State must post waiver notices online, making it easier to learn about and apply for relief.
Congress, taxpayers, and oversight bodies will receive annual data on the number and cost of waivers, improving transparency about program scope and fiscal impact.
Disaster-affected people who do not qualify for Individual Assistance under the Stafford Act may be left unable to get fee waivers even if they lost critical documents, leaving vulnerable households without relief.
Federal agencies (DHS/State) will need to implement and publicize the waiver processes, requiring staff time and administrative work that could divert resources from other services or slow processing for immigrants and other customers.
Taxpayers may ultimately bear additional costs because waived fees reduce agency fee revenue and could increase DHS/State administrative expenses.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Gives the President authority to waive fees for replacing critical documents lost in major disasters, requires agency notice and annual reporting to Congress on waivers and costs.
Introduced February 13, 2025 by John Wright Hickenlooper · Last progress February 13, 2025
Creates an explicit Presidential authority to waive fees for replacing key identity and immigration documents that are lost or destroyed in a major disaster for individuals or households that received individual assistance after a Stafford Act disaster. Requires the Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to post public notice of the waiver option and to submit annual reports to Congress on the number of waivers granted and the cost to each agency, with reporting beginning one year after enactment.