New Bill may halt increased US immigration fees

A new bill introduced late last week in both houses of the United States Congress could put a stop to the proposed immigration fee hike by the United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS), as well as provide for fairer testing procedures, support services, and increased background checks.

Under the USCIS proposal, the fee for starting the naturalization process would increase from $400 to $675. The new bill, if passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate and then signed by the President in a timely manner, would freeze the increase and give Congress the authority to appropriate funds from elsewhere to help offset the costs that USCIS says the fee increase is needed for.

The USCIS based part of its argument to increase fees upon an expected $2 billion debt in the coming two years. By law, federal agencies must collect enough fees to pay for their services. Part of the proposal in this bill would allow the USCIS to legally operate without paying for its entire budget through fees.

Not all provisions of the bill are related to the fees.

Introduced by Senator Barack Obama and House Representative Luis Gutierrez, the Citizenship Promotion Act of 2007 (CPA) would also make the citizenship test fairer by providing uniform administration of the test throughout the nation. When administered, the test would take into account the prospective citizen's age, education, or other special circumstances.

The CPA also calls for increasing U.S. citizenship promotion, education, and assistance through an $80 million "New Americans Initiative." The USCIS would develop outreach materials to persuade legal permanent residents to apply for naturalization. The initiative would also provide for education and outreach programs.

Further, the bill provides for greater accountability in the background checks of potential citizens. The FBI would be required to finish background checks within 90 days or face documentation and reporting requirements, and the bill mandates a Government Accountability Office study of the FBI's background check procedures.

The new bill is another salvo in the ongoing US immigration reform debate. Previous bills on both sides of the issue have failed to become law. Very little visible progress is being seen by many people, and voters last year were focused on the topic as a major election-year campaign issue. The new Democratically-controlled 110th Congress is under a lot of pressure to enact immigration reform this year.

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