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Higher Fee Takes Toll On American Dream

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 29, 2008

While the dream of becoming an American citizen is a priceless thing, the cost has become prohibitively expensive.

Last year the application fee for citizenship increased from $400 to $675, an astonishing 69 percent increase.

As a result, fewer immigrants applied to become citizens and assume their stake in the nation's future.

In the first six months of this year, an average of 46,866 immigrants applied for citizenship every month. That's a 59 percent decrease from last year, when an average of 114,469 people applied per month, according to an analysis by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

Applicants who can't afford the cost may apply for a fee waiver, but federal immigration officials typically reject about one-third of such requests.
Advocacy groups say there are countless examples of immigrant families who have not applied for citizenship because they can't afford the cost. Considering that many work low-wage jobs or simultaneously seek citizenship for multiple family members, the fees should be re-examined.

It's in America's interests for those who follow the rules to complete the citizenship process.

America has never been a nation that grants citizenship only to the rich. Becoming an American encourages assimilation into the great melting pot. The U.S. should shrink the barriers that prevent would-be citizens from realizing their dreams.

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