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CITIZENSHIP FEE HIKE AN OBSTACLE TO IMMIGRANT INTEGRATION
Citizenship is a national good the government should promote, not put out of
reach.
May 31, 2007 DOWNLOAD as PDF
WASHINGTON, DC – The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) is deeply
concerned with the increase in the application fee for U.S. citizenship and residency. The
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it will double, and in some
cases triple, fees for immigration and naturalization applications. The administration
should find a solution that promotes immigrant integration. Making citizenship and
residency accessible and affordable to low income immigrants is the first step.
CLINIC published a national citizenship plan, A More Perfect Union, after more than two
years of research, writing, and interviewing more than 108 experts and community
advocates. One of its first recommendations is that Congress should help fund
application processing.
The plan says, “Adequate funding would allow USCIS to halt annual fee increases,
reduce its backlogs, and improve the technology for application processing and its
customer services.” Unlike USCIS’s fee raise, CLINIC’s plan “should ensure that all Legal
Permanent Residents have access to citizenship, regardless of their socioeconomic class
or ethnic background.”
"Donald Kerwin, CLINIC’s Executive Director, noted that “these increases will deny
access to the immigration system to many eligible immigrants. They represent a barrier to
immigrant integration at a time when the President is appropriately pushing to give more
immigrants a path to legal status.”
In June 2006 President George W. Bush announced a plan “to create a ‘task force on new
Americans’ to expand local initiatives to help immigrants integrate into American society.”
The fee increases work at cross purposes to this initiative. Kerwin stated: “it serves the
national interest to promote citizenship, encourage integration, and allow immigrants to
contribute fully to the good of our nation. Our nation has been built by the contributions of
newcomers of all backgrounds. Raising the obstacles to integration goes against this
proud legacy."
see: A More Perfect Union: A National Citizenship Plan
###
The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), a subsidiary of the U.S. Conference
of Catholic Bishops, is the nation’s largest network of charitable immigration services with
161 affiliates in 262 field offices around the country. CLINIC advocates for transparent,
fair and generous immigration policies. www.cliniclegal.org
Citizenship is a national good the government should promote, not put out of
reach.
May 31, 2007 DOWNLOAD as PDF
WASHINGTON, DC – The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) is deeply
concerned with the increase in the application fee for U.S. citizenship and residency. The
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it will double, and in some
cases triple, fees for immigration and naturalization applications. The administration
should find a solution that promotes immigrant integration. Making citizenship and
residency accessible and affordable to low income immigrants is the first step.
CLINIC published a national citizenship plan, A More Perfect Union, after more than two
years of research, writing, and interviewing more than 108 experts and community
advocates. One of its first recommendations is that Congress should help fund
application processing.
The plan says, “Adequate funding would allow USCIS to halt annual fee increases,
reduce its backlogs, and improve the technology for application processing and its
customer services.” Unlike USCIS’s fee raise, CLINIC’s plan “should ensure that all Legal
Permanent Residents have access to citizenship, regardless of their socioeconomic class
or ethnic background.”
"Donald Kerwin, CLINIC’s Executive Director, noted that “these increases will deny
access to the immigration system to many eligible immigrants. They represent a barrier to
immigrant integration at a time when the President is appropriately pushing to give more
immigrants a path to legal status.”
In June 2006 President George W. Bush announced a plan “to create a ‘task force on new
Americans’ to expand local initiatives to help immigrants integrate into American society.”
The fee increases work at cross purposes to this initiative. Kerwin stated: “it serves the
national interest to promote citizenship, encourage integration, and allow immigrants to
contribute fully to the good of our nation. Our nation has been built by the contributions of
newcomers of all backgrounds. Raising the obstacles to integration goes against this
proud legacy."
see: A More Perfect Union: A National Citizenship Plan
###
The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), a subsidiary of the U.S. Conference
of Catholic Bishops, is the nation’s largest network of charitable immigration services with
161 affiliates in 262 field offices around the country. CLINIC advocates for transparent,
fair and generous immigration policies. www.cliniclegal.org
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media inquiries:
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(202) 635-5810
Suite 150
Washington, DC 20017
202.635.2556
202.635.2649 fax
media inquiries:
e-mail me
(202) 635-5810
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media inquiries: Melissa Williams
Media Relations Coordinator
(202) 635-5810
Media Relations Coordinator
(202) 635-5810