The cost of obtaining a green card, business visa and other immigration benefits will increase an average of 10 percent under a proposal announced Wednesday by federal immigration officials.
But, in a move hailed by immigrant advocates, officials decided not to propose any fee hikes for citizenship applications, one of the largest and most politically popular categories of immigration benefits. Citizenship fees were increased by nearly 70 percent to $675 in 2007, which immigrant advocates say contributed to a sharp drop in the number of citizenship applications in the past two years.
Alejandro Mayorkas, director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said the proposed fee increase was needed to close a projected $200 million deficit for 2010-11. Budget cuts of $160 million, which included reduced travel and subscriptions, were not enough to offset the gap between the agency’s projected $2.1 billion revenue and $2.3 billion in costs, he said Wednesday.
The agency is required to be self-supporting and relies on fees for 90 percent of its budget. In recent years, it has received congressional appropriations for specific tasks. Los Angeles Times
