Increased Immigration Fees Denounced

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) joined a chorus of immigrant advocacy groups in condemning the Bush administration's plan to charge legal immigrants significantly more money to obtain green cards, adjust their residency status and bring relatives to the United States.

Under the plan, announced yesterday by Emilio Gonzalez, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the government would charge $905 -- up from $325 -- to apply for a green card or to adjust residency status. Immigrants with green cards would have to pay $595 to become naturalized citizens, a $265 increase. The cost of bringing a foreign fiance to the United States would more than double, to $455.

"This drastic increase will price the American dream out of reach for qualified immigrants wanting to be citizens of our country," Kennedy said. He called on Congress to appropriate more money to USCIS, which depends on fees for 99 percent of its budget. "We are a nation of immigrants, and Congress should recognize its responsibility to support the vital work of immigration services by appropriating the necessary funds," he said.

Kennedy's comments were echoed by Kevin Appleby, director of migration and refugee policy for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: "This increase reflects a disturbing trend which places the benefits of citizenship on the open market, with only those of a certain economic level able to access it."

Gonzalez said the fee increases are necessary to operate his agency more efficiently. "Anytime you have to raise a fee, you understand it's going to affect people," he said. "We also have a necessity to create a system that will process . . . people in a streamlined way."

USCIS has long been plagued by an application backlog, slow processing by poorly trained personnel and an inability to track applications for people. The agency receives no money from Congress and passes on most costs to applicants. A highly critical 2004 Government Accountability Office report said that the agency's fees did not cover its costs.

Gonzalez said the increase would pay for better facilities, more workers and more training so that applications can be processed faster and by a more courteous and professional staff. He said the improvements would help USCIS cope with a guest-worker program should Congress approve some type of comprehensive immigration reform.

The fee increases will be published today in the Federal Register, beginning a two-month comment period. USCIS expects to process nearly 5 million applications in the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

"We've never seen regular fees that were this high," said Fred Tsao, policy director for the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights. "I think a lot of people are going to get discouraged."