Skyrocketing immigration fees over the last three years are pricing immigrants out of a path to citizenship.
In 2007, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) raised citizenship fees by an average of 70%. In 2008, the agency tacked on a $375 fee for females aged 11-26 for an HPV vaccine - that amounted to an additional 25% increase for young women. Now the agency says it is raising the cost of obtaining a green card, business visa and other immigration benefits by a “weighted average” of 10%. The operative word here is weighted.
The disparity among fee increases is vast; the cost to apply for temporary residency shot up almost 250% for example, from $420 to $1030. The USCIS is not increasing the cost of applying for citizenship, which the agency stated was provided “special consideration given the unique nature of this benefit to the individual applicant.” What the agency isn’t saying is that most immigrants are required to spend a certain number of years as temporary or permanent residents before they can apply for naturalization.
Not only that, but applications by immigrants plummeted (by 62% in 2008) after the 2007 fee hike. USCIS’s announcement that the agency is “protecting” the cost of applying for citizenship is an empty claim if the cost is already out of reach for most immigrants. And maintaining that other fee hikes are necessary due to a $200 million budget shortfall is a strange justification for an agency that has had a diminished workload over the last few years.
The agency and supporters of the fee increases also ignore the obvious: in lieu of immigration reform, the system is so difficult to navigate, families spend thousands on attorney’s fees alone.
What’s even more curious are anti-immigrant groups who push to raise the cost of citizenship with one breath and with the next condemn immigrants for not entering this country “the right way.” Groups like Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) have even published backgrounders outlining how to turn immigration fees into a profitable enterprise. What CIS lays out in 40 pages of conflicting data can really be summed up in one sentence: sell citizenship to the highest bidder.
On the bright side, the proposed increases won’t go into effect for 45 days. Until then, USCIS encourages members of the public to submit comments on the proposed increases. Go to www.regulations.gov to voice your opinion, and while you’re at it tell them it’s time to reconsider those fee increases from 2007 as well. The comment period runs until July 26, 2010.
Gaining citizenship is no small feat. Nor should it be. But pricing immigrants out of the opportunity doesn’t square with American values.