Guillermina Torres paid $320 to become a U.S. citizen, 10 years
ago. That, and her knowledge of U.S. laws and lore – learned in
citizenship classes, three hours a day, five days a week – earned
her a legal claim to her adopted home.
Gilroy – Guillermina Torres paid $320 to become a U.S. citizen, 10 years ago. That, and her knowledge of U.S. laws and lore – learned in citizenship classes, three hours a day, five days a week – earned her a legal claim to her adopted home.
Now, the Morgan Hill woman is trying to earn a place for her father, left behind in Zacatecas, Mexico. But the price of his residency could seriously dent Torres’ pocketbook, if the federal government hikes its fees. On Feb. 1, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services proposed an 86 percent fee boost: the first increase since 1998, when fees bumped 76 percent.
Agency representatives say the fees will unsnarl delays and revamp the process, replacing reams of paper applications with a slick, computerized system.
“We can’t become the frontrunner in the world’s largest immigration system, without updating that antiquated technology,” said USCIS representative Marie Sebrechts – and the agency can’t get funds without hiking fees. Since Congress deemed it a fee-based agency, said Sebrechts, “fees are the only place we can get our money.”
But those who aid South County’s immigrants say the increases would bar many from citizenship. Existing fees are already daunting for field workers and line cooks; families delay filing forms when doctors’ bills pop up.
“Imagine you’re making $6.75 an hour, and you’ve got to pay for rent, food, and sending money back to your family,” said Edward Sanchez, founder of the Gilroy Citizenship Project, which provides free citizenship classes to South County immigrants. “What are they going to do?”
Refugees, soldiers and asylum-seekers can apply for free, but most other immigrants will shell out hundreds more, if the fees are adopted. Sebrecht said applicants cowed by the new fees can request a fee waiver, but immigrants’ advocates say waivers are difficult to win, and rarely granted. Less than 1 percent of applicants submitted fee waivers in fiscal year 2006, Sebrecht said.
“Many farmworkers are not paid by checks, do not have checking accounts, and have no way to substantiate their income,” said Timoteo Vasquez, a community organizer with Communities United in Prevention and People United in Prevention. “How do they substantiate that they’re below-income?”
For South County’s poorest immigrants, “there’s a hesitancy to apply [for a waiver], because it’s much more work to put together the documentation, and there’s a fear that if you submit a waiver, your case will be delayed,” said Robert Yabes, director of Catholic Charities’ Immigration Program.
Already, immigrants are rushing to complete their applications to beat the fee increase, said Juan Gil Garcia, a Board of Immigration Appeals-accredited representative who aids citizenship applicants with Catholic Charities. ‘Notarios,’ who illegally advertise themselves as legal experts – ‘notario’ means attorney in Spanish – could profit off their fear. Other immigrants might be tempted to submit their applications before they’re eligible, zapping their chances at citizenship.
Immigration officials claim that the improvements will be worth the cost, smoothing background checks, fraud detection and application times.
“We can’t be very efficient when we’re totally paper-based,” said Sebrecht. “With the millions of applications we get and process every year, that’s very difficult.”
But many advocates are unconvinced. Vasquez recalled similar promises in the 1970s, when amnesty fees jumped.
“They said they’d increase speeds – it didn’t. The institution is slow. Period,” Vasquez said, arguing that reorganization and in-house accountability would cut application times quicker than money.
Others say application speeds aren’t the main issue. Garcia notes that the San Jose office is turning around applications in less than a year; nationwide, field offices from Boise to Tampa are processing applications in six months, sometimes less.
“It’s inevitable for some increase to occur,” said Garcia, “but I’m hoping that they might increase it by less.”
The fee hike is up for public comment on the Federal Register, the government’s official daily publication for rules, proposed rules and notices. Thus far, Sebrecht says the feedback has been positive. Catholic Charities plans to submit its comments formally, gathered from offices across the U.S. But Sanchez is skeptical that any comment could sway USCIS from adopting the fee increase, and says the comment process isn’t accessible to those who it will affect: poor farmworkers, “people living with extended families, with six to eight people to a house.”
“We’re giving immigrants a mixed message,” said Garcia. “We want immigrants to integrate. But we’re creating barriers for them to become citizens, if they’re poor.”
With a full-time job, Torres says she can pay the upped fees, but she worries about “the others.” Garcia described one Gilroy client, a disabled woman on a fixed income, scraping together her citizenship fees. News of the hikes deflated her hopes.
“She’s disappointed,” he said. “It’s going to cost her at least $670. She really wanted to become a citizen.” Garcia stopped, and corrected himself. “Wants to become a citizen.”
A FEW OF THE PROPOSED HIKES
- Application to replace a permanent resident card: $190-$290
-
Petition for Alien Fiance: $170-$455
-
Application to Register Permanent Status: $325-$905
-
Application for Naturalization: $330-$995
Source: USCIS.gov
