Fewer Seek U.S. Citizenship Amid Fee Hike

(AP)  Immigrants aren't seeking U.S. citizenship as often these days - not since the American dream became more expensive.

Following a 69 percent increase last summer in citizenship fees, about 281,000 immigrants have applied to become U.S. citizens in the first half of 2008 - less than half the number of applicants in the same period last year, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The decline follows a rush of applications when immigrants hurried to get their paperwork filed before fees shot up at the end of July 2007. In that month alone, more than 460,000 immigrants applied for citizenship.

They paid $400. The new fee is $675 - a price some people believe is a barrier to citizenship.

Thu Tran, director of a citizenship program at Catholic Charities of Orange County, said she helped more than 100 people a month fill out citizenship papers in the last few years. This year she helps about 50 a month.

"I have people who make appointments and cancel," Tran said. "We follow up and they say they don't have the money to pay for that."

While immigrant advocates blame higher fees and a wobbly economy, a federal official said a variety of reasons could have caused the decline.

"For everyone, it's different," said Sharon Rummery, a spokeswoman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The agency has not had so few applicants to open a year since 2003, when nearly 270,000 people applied for U.S. citizenship.

Flavia Jimenez, director of the citizenship program at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said some immigrants in Chicago are taking out loans to pay the fees or designating one family member who gets to apply for citizenship.

Helen Ravasdy, a 30-year-old who immigrated to Southern California from China, said she wished she could have applied when it was cheaper but she hadn't lived in the U.S. long enough. She's now applying because she wants to vote.

"I have to do it now - not later," said Ravasdy, who is taking classes at a community college in Orange to prepare for her citizenship test.

Herminia Kindelan, a program specialist at a citizenship program at Santa Ana College, said she is worried that applications could decline further. She said more immigrants might be discouraged about upcoming revisions to the U.S. civics test, which they must pass before becoming citizens.

The changes, which aim to gauge immigrants' understanding of concepts in U.S. civics and avoid rote memorization, take effect for applications received after Sept. 30.

[keithle1]

Stay in your own countries. Work to make things better there. We have enough people. We don''t need any more.

You don''t see Americans emigrating to your country do you?

[barbaram99]

I am appalled at the bragger telling us to learn to spell and use better grammar..I am legally blind and was poorly schooled..I am 53. Yer out of line when ye told us to kiss yer Irish arse. I am an American of Irish/UK decent, Yer lucky to be here. I didn''t know yer have to pay to be a citizen.I aint a holier then ye..I WELCOME OTHERS HERE. I was born here. I was denied a proper education. It may surprise ye that handicapped were barred from the school system until sp ed was put in place. I was one. So who thinks he/she is better,lass learn yer manners.

[barbaram99]

I

[bhappy2-2]

I am a permanent resident and have lived in the US since 1982. I came here legally, have held a job for 24 of the 26 years I have been here. I have never been on welfare, never been in trouble with the law and raised 3 wonderful American children. I pay taxes and have paid taxes every year I have worked. I daresay the majority of immigrants...legal immigrants...in this country are like me. You see when we enter the country and apply for our permanent resident cards we also take an oath to be law abiding citizens and not become a burden on the American taxpayer. Legal immigrants are vetted thoroughly before coming to the US with criminal background checks, psychiatric and medical examinations and when I came, I had to hand carry my chest x-rays for examination at Customs to prove I did not have TB. How many natural born Americans can claim that? Soooo, thevicar, tootall, zgomer and the rest of you who just love to heap insults on us...I have something for you...learn how to spell, construct sentences and then kiss my IRISH A S S. You do your country a grave disservice with your holier than thou attitudes.

Posted by kittykatty2

It may be 26 years late, but Welcome to America!

[bhappy2-2]

Why should they attempt to gain citizenship when OUR GOVERNMENT refuses to do anything about the ILLEGAL ALIEN INVADERS? They figure they can become ILLEGAL ALIEN INVADERS too, and then they qualify for free handouts. Like the other ILLEGAL ALIEN INVADERS.

(This is what the post below SHOULD say. Not sure what happened to the first few words!)

[bhappy2-2]

citizenship when OUR GOVERNMENT refuses to do anything about the ILLEGAL ALIEN INVADERS? They figure they can become ILLEGAL ALIEN INVADERS too, and then they qualify for free handouts. Like the other ILLEGAL ALIEN INVADERS.

[wolf77creek]

the fee should be right around $50,000.00 per person that way it would help cover all the welfare, extra teachers in school, medical & lawyers for all the drugs & crimes they bring with them. We do not need any aliens legal or illegal in our country, we cannot provide jobs, medical or anything else for the people that are here now, we are paying most of our hard earned wages to support other people in other nations that do nothing to change their government or help themselves. The only thing they are good at is breeding, guess that is their only skill!!!

[usclimey]

Why become a citizen and have responsibility for anything when Liberals will give it away to you just because you''''re here.

Posted by maxify55

Thought it was Bush and McCain who wanted the amnesty program - not liberals. If I had to pick a country to move to and live on welfare, the US is the last place I''d look. Y''all don''t look after your own poor worth a d@*mn let alone other country''s. France would be first on the list, followed by Germany.

[grandesign]

That''s the problem with liberalism. It doesn''t mesh with human nature and responsibility/accountability.
Posted by maxify55 at 11:36 AM : Sep 10, 2008

Funny thing is, neither does conservatism. Ask a Conservative details about anything and they either don''t remember or claim exectutive privilege. Ask A conservative about pro-life choices, and they claim abstinence only works but if a woman gets pregnant she is not to be supported through social programs. Ask a conservative about executive pay, and they say they deserve it ($10M to $100M), but they won''t tax it progressively nor will support the middle income worker. Conservatism as it is practiced today by Republicans doesn''t mesh with nature or responsibility/accountability, and mostly you have national security as a guise for non-competitive high-dollar contracts, and continuous war mongering. Fear is the currency of choice.

[shaggydo-2009]

Why become a citizen and have responsibility for anything when Liberals will give it away to you just because you''''re here. Legality has no bearing on your presence in the USA. We''''ve got all kinds of money we can throw away. At least they''''re willing to give you mine. They''''re not too sure yet how to secure theirs from each other in the food chain. That''''s the problem with liberalism. It doesn''''t mesh with human nature and responsibility/accountability.


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Posted by maxify55 at 11:36 AM : Sep 10, 2008

So they can pay taxes and afford to pay for insurance so they and their families won''t have to take government handouts if you don''t realize this it is because you don''t know the truth or the reality of their situation the causes for this. Your type feel no one should have what you''ve had an opportunity to have thehell with their childrens future. Either we should put into practice "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
or if it no longer holds any meaning or truth get rid of it because it has been destroyed from within and not by any terrorists but by so called patriots full of hypocrisy who immigrant ancestors reaped the benefits of the intent proclaimed by it.