PETITION CLOSED

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Say No to Fee Hikes on Immigration Applications
  1. Signatures
    122 out of 200
    Petitioning
    1. Director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (Alejandro Mayorkas)
  2. Created By
    L M
    Berkeley, CA
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

This month, the Obama administration announced that the already astronomical fees for immigration applications, which skyrocketed in 2007, will likely be raised again. Under USCIS’s proposal, currently up for public review and comment, application fees will increase an average 10% across the board. Our government finances 90% of the United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) office through these application fees, and there are currently not enough applications to cover costs.
 
Given the contributions of immigrants to the United States’ culture, economy and way of life, immigration processing is a public service that contributes to a public good. By hiking up fees and relying upon them for 90% of the operation costs of USCIS, we are putting a price tag on the inherent value of being American; worse, we are keeping hardworking people from updating their status in the United States according to their rights prescribed by law.

Recent Signatures

Do Not Increase Immigration Fees

Dear Mr. Mayorkas:

I am writing to express my dire concern for the proposed fee increases for USCIS applications. Just raised in 2007, these fees are already prohibitive for those wishing to update their status through legal channels and become legitimate contributors to U.S. society.

Immigration to the U.S. has not become less desirable in the past few years. On the contrary. And yet, as you say, application numbers are down. This decrease in applications seems to point to the fact that U.S. immigration costs are already too high for many applicants; raising these fees will only worsen this decline.

While I understand that managing a large U.S. department, particularly in the current economy, is rife with financial challenges, it is clear that USCIS's reliance on application fees to finance its operations creates a prohibitive system that excludes hard working and deserving applicants from updating their status.

Just as we don't rely on defendants' legal fees to finance our Public Defenders offices, or student tuition to finance public schools, we shouldn't rely so heavily on these fees to finance our immigration services office. Given the contributions of immigrants to the United States’ culture, economy and way of life, immigration processing is a public service, contributing to a public good.

As USCIS states on its website, the agency has chosen not to raise its already astronomical Citizenship processing fee because of “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.” But aren't all of the U.S.'s immigration statuses born from a strong U.S. tradition of immigration that benefits the individual and the nation at large?

As the nation's leader in immigration affairs, I strongly urge you to reconsider this fee increase and create a more just and viable plan for financing USCIS.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

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