Mar
7
LA City Council Oppose Fee Increase
Filed Under Immigration Fees, Immigration News | Leave a Comment
The Los Angeles City Council officially stated its opposition to a federal bill that will raise the fees on visa applications for immigrants who wish to become US citizens.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced last month (31JAN07) that the fee to become a citizen could rise from from $330 to $595, and from $325 to $905 to become a permanent resident.
Councilman Jose Huizar says, “When you look at the demographics and the people who are becoming citizens, many of them are low-income. It may not sound like a lot, but to many of these people, it is a lot.”
To read more about the fee increase, click here.
Mar
6
The US Senate has approved legislation that will expand the current US Visa Waiver program to include 19 new countries.
Under the Visa Waiver program, citizens from approved countries do not have to apply for a 90-day tourist visa to visit the US. Under the new legislation, the list of approved countries has been increased to include South Korea, Turkey, Argentina, Poland, and a number of Eastern European and Central Asian countries.
Current federal law states that if the refusal rate for tourist visas is above three per cent for citizens of a country, that country cannot participate in the visa waiver program. The new legislation would change the visa refusal rate to ten per cent.
To read more about the Visa Waiver program amendments, click here.
Feb
20
Increased Visa Fees Cause Hardship
Filed Under Immigration Fees | Comments Off
An increase in the cost of filing paperwork relating to US work visas is causing great hardship for immigrants, according to new figures which show the cost of immigration forms is set to rise by an average of 66% this year.
The majority of immigrants who are filing for residency will face charges that will rise from $935 to $1985.
Attorney Susan Bower says, “A lot of them are making very difficult choices, between food and bills and rent and these fees, plus whatever they have to pay an attorney. Even with our reduced fees, it would be a real hardship.”
730,642 immigrants applied to become U.S. citizens last year with 497,005 applying to become permanent residents.