January 15, 1999
ASSOCIATED PRESS
What's the price of citizenship? In the United States, about $225.
On Friday, the Immigration and Naturalization Service will begin charging $130 more to process each citizenship application. INS officials say the increase is necessary to keep up with the rise in demand for citizenship.
For immigrants like Khammany Phommasane, a Laotian father of seven, the fee hike means he has to tell his family that they may not be able to become citizens for a very long time.
``The price is too high,'' said the 49-year-old electronics technician. He filed his application for $95 in San Diego last week, in time to beat the increase.
Immigrant rights advocates contend the fee increase will discourage low-income immigrants from seeking naturalization and the right to vote.
``The fee increase is spurring people to come to our offices,'' said Robert Moser, director of Catholic Charities, a group that works to help qualify immigrants for naturalization.
``But the true test of its impact will come after Friday. How many people will apply?'' he said. ``It's going to be more difficult for persons without means to come up with that amount.''
Working-poor families have made up the bulk of the most recent wave of new citizens. The INS was given an additional $171 million this year to help reduce a record backlog of 1.8 million applications. Southern California accounts for about 25 percent of that total.
Applicants who cannot afford the new higher fee may seek a waiver by filing an affidavit and other documentation, INS officials said.
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