Make citizenship affordable

Miami Herald: If a business were to raise prices the way the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services intends to hike fees, it would be accused of gouging. Customers who see prices double or triple in months can choose not to buy or go to another vendor. But CIS has a monopoly on its product: granting U.S. residency and citizenship. Immigrants fortunate enough to qualify for CIS benefits should be encouraged to apply for residency and citizenship -- not blocked by exorbitant fees.
The CIS fee proposal is counterproductive. At a time when President Bush is pushing for pragmatic immigration reforms, it doesn't make sense to impose unaffordable fees. The idea should be to reduce the number of undocumented immigrants, not erect barriers for people who want to comply with the law and get on the path to citizenship.
Unrelated costs
Fees have skyrocketed since 1998 when Congress required that CIS cover its costs. This is fine in principle. But in practice, these fees also are used to cover unrelated costs of non-fee functions, such as CIS asylum and refugee services and record checks for other federal agencies. Immigrants are also saddled with paying for the inefficiency and poor performance of an agency that has been dysfunctional for years.
Services have improved marginally in recent years, but lengthy processing waits and other problems remain. CIS now wants to charge 905 to apply for permanent U.S. residency -- nearly triple the current 325 fee. For citizenship, CIS would charge 595. This is more than six times the 1997 cost and nearly double the current 330 fee. Work permits would cost 340 a year, up from 180. Such fees will be a hardship for newcomers with low-wage jobs who struggle to support their families.
The fees are needed to improve service and modernize the agency, says CIS Director Emilio Gonzalez. These are laudable goals. But immigrants alone shouldn't carry the freight of modernizing an agency that has been dysfunctional for decades. Fortunately, leaders of the Judiciary and Immigration committees in both U.S. chambers have signaled their intent to scrutinize CIS's proposal. Good. Congress should ensure that U.S. residency and citizenship is affordable.