Washington, D.C.– U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) will announce tomorrow in the Federal Register a revised
fee structure for immigration benefits. The new fee structure will become
effective on April 30, 2004; 15 days after publication. The new fees
add an average of $55 to the current cost of immigration benefit applications,
and increases the biometrics fee by $20 for certain applications.
“USCIS is committed to delivering immigration services and benefits
in a compassionate, effective and secure manner,” said USCIS Director
Eduardo Aguirre. “The new fee structure will allow us to enhance
service without compromising our commitment to national security.”
Federal guidelines require that USCIS collect fees, rather than using
tax dollars, to recover the full costs
associated with providing immigration services, and conduct a review
every two years to ensure that adequate revenue is received. The proposed
adjustment will recover costs associated with comprehensive security
enhancements instituted after September 11, 2001, and enhance customer
service by contributing to improved application processing times. The
FY 2005 Budget requests an increase of $60 million in appropriated funds
to support backlog reduction efforts (for a total of $160 million for
this effort). USCIS plans to achieve the President’s goal to eliminate
the application backlog and achieve a six-month processing time standard
for all immigration benefit applications by FY 2006.
In its first year, USCIS prioritized the integrity of the legal immigration
system, conducting 35 million national security checks to make certain
that the right applicant receives the right benefit in the right amount
of time, and to prevent the wrong applicant from accessing our benefits.
In the area of customer service, USCIS eliminated the lines at many
of its highest volume offices, introduced on-line options for certain
application filings and case status updates, and established a bilingual,
toll-free customer help-line.
(04/15/2004)
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