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U.S. Proposes Rise in Immigration Fees
By SUZANNE GAMBOA

WASHINGTON Jan 31, 2007 (AP)— The Bush administration is proposing to nearly double the cost of becoming a U.S. citizen and drastically raise the cost of becoming a legal permanent resident.

Citizenship and Immigration Services, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, announced Wednesday it wants to raise the application fee for citizenship from $330 to $595 and the fee for becoming a legal permanent resident from $325 to $905. But the agency plans to eliminate other costs those legal residency applicants often pay while they are waiting for their permanent residency to be final.

Emilio Gonzalez, Citizenship and Immigration Services director, said more than 99 percent of the agency's costs are paid for with application fees. The increases are needed to make up for lost revenue and to help the agency become "the immigration service of the 21st century," he said.

"We need to grow. We need to strengthen. We need to modernize. We need to provide the very best possible customer service. We need to provide the very best possible security infrastructure for what we do," Gonzalez said.

The agency said the new fees would reduce average application processing times by 20 percent by the end of September 2009.

The agency said it would raise $2 billion over those two years from the fee increases. The money is to be spent on improving immigration offices, technology, hiring and training; background checks of immigrants and speeding up completing applications.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2837116
www.uscis.gov

if this goes into effect these new fees will be effective as of October 2007

__________________
Some men move mountains
Some women move men who move mountains
Most women with mountains move some men
But I...I am a woman who is moved by men who can get through the valley

Queen GodIs

damnnnnn!!!

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~~When your character is built on spiritual and moral foundations, your contagious way of life will influence millions.~~

http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedoc...oposedRule.pdf

see page 84 that has more info on amounts

__________________
Some men move mountains
Some women move men who move mountains
Most women with mountains move some men
But I...I am a woman who is moved by men who can get through the valley

Queen GodIs