Thread: Immigration fees would increase by an average of 10%

Immigration fees would increase by an average of 10% under new proposal

June 9, 2010 | 10:07 am

Immigration fees would increase by an average of 10% under a proposal announced Wednesday by U.S. officials.

Some of the fee increases would include applications to replace permanent resident cards, which would increase from $290 to $365; applications for naturalization certificates, which would jump from $460 to $600; and applications for status as a temporary resident, which would rise from $710 to $1,130.

But the proposal would not increase fees for citizenship applications, one of the largest and most politically popular benefits. Those fees were hiked by 70% to $675 in 2007, an increase that immigrant-rights groups blamed for putting citizenship out of reach for the poor.

Alejandro Mayorkas, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said the proposed fee increases were needed to close a projected $200-million deficit for 2010-11. Budget cuts of $160 million were not enough to offset the gap between the agency's projected $2.1 billion in revenue and $2.3 billion in costs, he said in a national teleconference.

Fees for citizenship will not be raised "given the unique nature of this benefit to the individual applicant, the significant public benefit to the nation and the nation's proud tradition of welcoming new citizens," he said in a statement.

The proposal came after a lengthy fee review and meetings with community members in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and elsewhere.

Immigrant advocates hailed the decision not to raise citizenship fees.

"It's very clear the Obama administration has heard the concern of the immigrant community about keeping citizenship affordable," said Fred Tsao of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

Three new fees are proposed to cover the processing costs of visas for immigrants, investors and civil surgeons.

Under the proposed changes, some fees would actually decrease. For example, applications to adjust status from temporary to permanent resident would drop from $1,370 to $1,070, and applications for family unity benefits would go from $440 to $435.

Mayorkas urged the public to weigh in on the proposal at www.regulations.gov. The 45-day public comment period runs from Friday to July 26.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... posal.html

This article is now on the USA TODAY site.

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http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/201 ... fees_N.htm

This USA TODAY article has some different info.

Feds proposing new round of immigration fee hikes

Posted 1h 22m ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The cost of the first step toward becoming a U.S. citizen — getting a green card — may be going up. But the Obama administration won't be raising the price to apply for full-fledged citizenship.

The administration has proposed increasing the application fee for a green card — given to foreigners with permission to live and work in the U.S. permanently — from $930 to $985. The fee for required fingerprinting also would go up $5 to $85, for a total of $1,070.

Foreigners wanting to become a U.S. citizen must have held a green card for five years before they are eligible to apply for citizenship, which costs $595 plus the fingerprinting fee. The administration is not proposing an increase in the citizenship application fee even though an administration study found the fee should be increased as much as $60 an application — to cover the full cost of processing those applications.

"Requesting and obtaining U.S. citizenship deserves special consideration," said Ali Mayorkas, director of Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Homeland Security Department.

The increases are being proposed as Congress has put off overhauling immigration laws that President Obama promised would be done in his first year in office.

Mayorkas said the increases are needed because his agency is facing $2.3 billion in estimated costs to process immigration-related applications. The agency expects just $2.1 billion in revenue this fiscal year to cover those costs.

The fee increases, if approved, are only expected to make up some of the revenue gap. Mayorkas also is asking for $248 million from Congress for the 2011 fiscal year that begins in October and additional money to cover naturalizations of military personnel. The agency is largely funded by fee revenue and is required by law to study the fees every two years and adjust them based on costs and revenue.

Mayorkas said the administration has been "mindful of the effect of a fee increase on the communities we serve" and has made budget cuts to limit the size of the increases.

The agency hiked fees in the summer of 2007, helping to trigger a flood of citizenship applications that were filed in advance of the increases. But since then, applications for citizenship and other immigration benefits have slowed.

The agency proposed to charge fees for three other programs that previously had no charge, including a new $6,230 fee for investor visas, known as EB-5. The visas are given to foreign investors who pledge at least $500,000 to a project that creates jobs. The visa is popular with Vermont Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, that oversees immigration issues.

Fees would drop for five applications, including petitions to legally bring a fiance or fiancee or an orphan to the U.S.

Obama had promised during his campaign to work on the citizenship system to make it cheaper and faster. As a senator, he sponsored legislation with Illinois Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez calling for more oversight of immigration application fees. The bill stalled.

The public will have 45 days to comment on the proposed fee increases after they are published in Thursday's Federal Register.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/201 ... fees_N.htm

"Foreigners wanting to become a U.S. citizen must have held a green card for five years
before they are eligible to apply for citizenship"

Interesting.