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LOS ANGELES — The federal government is considering raising fees on applications for immigration-related services to help offset a shortage in revenue.
Alejandro Mayorkas, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, told reporters Wednesday in Los Angeles the agency is considering cutting costs, raising fees or reorienting revenue in the next two years to alleviate the problem.
Government weighs boost to immigration filing fees | San Francisco Examiner (http://www.sfexaminer.com/nation/ap/60773292.html - broken link)
All the rest of us are paying more for the things we want. The immigrants need to pay fees high enough to cover the services they're being provided. It shouldn't be paid by the citizens.
All the rest of us are paying more for the things we want. The immigrants need to pay fees high enough to cover the services they're being provided. It shouldn't be paid by the citizens.
I think social services should only be provided to people that can provide a valid source of id. IMO that should also mean no social services for anyone under 18 unless one of their Parents can prove they are American. That would vastly shrink the number of people receiving them.
One thing it will do is make that many more want to come here Illegally if they think any fee is too high. That's ok, I'd rather they take a stab at it and get caught then having the US increase legal immigration numbers which, imo, are already too high.
I came here last year on a spousal visa. It wasn't cheap- some 800 dollars for filing fees alone-, and there are many associated costs (medical, translation for official documents, travel to embassy for interview etc). But moving anywhere isn't cheap, and the immigrant should definitely cover the expenses of the US government in processing the visas and doing the necessary security checks. Considering getting a spousal or fiance visa can take a year or more, I think a lot of people would be willing to pay extra for expedited service too (it's already available for work visas!).
I'm torn on this. On the one hand, it seems unfair to penalise those who are doing it the right way and following the law, especially if they are strapped for cash as it is. On the other hand, it might weed out those who are not entirely dedicated.
I dont think the costs have anything to do with whether or not someone is dedicated. The immigration process is already too lengthy and costly as it is, making it more expensive will not encourage people to immigrate to this country by legal means.
Case in point, my husband came to America on a student Visa. He had to have a sponsor in his home country that had to have funds of 50,000 USD or more in their bank, along with paying various fees (some more than 8,000 USD) , paying for immunizations, etc. That is just for a Visa, which can expire. That is not including the astronomical fees that had to be paid when my husband reached american soil. 5 years later, a year before my husbands Visa would expire, he was taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security, and put into ICE status for deportation processing. DHS was unaware that we had been married for over a year, they were also unaware that my husband's Visa had not yet expired. Did that stop them? No.
I had to show up the next day at the DHS building, with 1500 USD in bail money, and wait for three hours to be told by someone that I would have to wait another two hours because DHS takes their lunch from 11am-1pm, it was only 10:30am at the time, yet everyone was already leaving for lunch. At 1:20pm, people started coming back to DHS from lunch. However, no one was ready to work until around 1:40pm. There's our tax dollars at work! Im pretty sure that these people were being paid while they were at lunch for an extra hour. After waiting another 4 hours, and being told that DHS had no idea where my husband was(eventhough they had already taken my 1500 USD) while an Immigration agent was calling my cell phone telling me that I needed to come at pick my husband up from the DHS office, I began to get a little upset. When I asked questions, like, "How do you not know where my husband is? I have an Immigration agent on the phone right now telling me I need to talk to you in order to pick him up!"..."you cant find his file? Then why did you take my money 5 hours ago. Do I at least get a receipt?"...and being told to "sit down and shut up"..that I had "lost my rights because I was a criminal".........I dont think the individuals working in Immigration are worth the money they are being paid...by tax dollars from Americans like me. Furthermore, it took over 7 hours for the individuals at DHS to issue me a receipt, and a piece of paper with my name and address on it (2 of those hours in which those working in the office were paid over-time).
After all of that, my husband was released with bail, but was still in deportation processing. Immigration admitted that they had jumped the gun in taking my husband into custody, but could not take it back. We would have to go through a lengthy court process in order to find out if my husband could legally stay in the US. The individuals at DHS told us that if he would have came here illegally, then we wouldnt be having this problem.
After waiting a year and a half, spending over 10,000 USD on paperwork (one Immigration application cost 1500 USD with a 300 USD filing fee), we have finally been granted with a 2 year temporary green card. So, after spending 11,500 USD on Immigration (not including original paperwork, visas, and legal representation, along with future renewal fees) I'd say that Legal Immigration is expensive enough as it is. Maybe the big-wigs in DHS should start taking a look at the inefficiency of their employees and find more ways that they can be economical.
I dont think the costs have anything to do with whether or not someone is dedicated. The immigration process is already too lengthy and costly as it is, making it more expensive will not encourage people to immigrate to this country by legal means.
Case in point, my husband came to America on a student Visa. He had to have a sponsor in his home country that had to have funds of 50,000 USD or more in their bank, along with paying various fees (some more than 8,000 USD) , paying for immunizations, etc. That is just for a Visa, which can expire. That is not including the astronomical fees that had to be paid when my husband reached american soil. 5 years later, a year before my husbands Visa would expire, he was taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security, and put into ICE status for deportation processing. DHS was unaware that we had been married for over a year, they were also unaware that my husband's Visa had not yet expired. Did that stop them? No.
I had to show up the next day at the DHS building, with 1500 USD in bail money, and wait for three hours to be told by someone that I would have to wait another two hours because DHS takes their lunch from 11am-1pm, it was only 10:30am at the time, yet everyone was already leaving for lunch. At 1:20pm, people started coming back to DHS from lunch. However, no one was ready to work until around 1:40pm. There's our tax dollars at work! Im pretty sure that these people were being paid while they were at lunch for an extra hour. After waiting another 4 hours, and being told that DHS had no idea where my husband was(eventhough they had already taken my 1500 USD) while an Immigration agent was calling my cell phone telling me that I needed to come at pick my husband up from the DHS office, I began to get a little upset. When I asked questions, like, "How do you not know where my husband is? I have an Immigration agent on the phone right now telling me I need to talk to you in order to pick him up!"..."you cant find his file? Then why did you take my money 5 hours ago. Do I at least get a receipt?"...and being told to "sit down and shut up"..that I had "lost my rights because I was a criminal".........I dont think the individuals working in Immigration are worth the money they are being paid...by tax dollars from Americans like me. Furthermore, it took over 7 hours for the individuals at DHS to issue me a receipt, and a piece of paper with my name and address on it (2 of those hours in which those working in the office were paid over-time).
After all of that, my husband was released with bail, but was still in deportation processing. Immigration admitted that they had jumped the gun in taking my husband into custody, but could not take it back. We would have to go through a lengthy court process in order to find out if my husband could legally stay in the US. The individuals at DHS told us that if he would have came here illegally, then we wouldnt be having this problem.
After waiting a year and a half, spending over 10,000 USD on paperwork (one Immigration application cost 1500 USD with a 300 USD filing fee), we have finally been granted with a 2 year temporary green card. So, after spending 11,500 USD on Immigration (not including original paperwork, visas, and legal representation, along with future renewal fees) I'd say that Legal Immigration is expensive enough as it is. Maybe the big-wigs in DHS should start taking a look at the inefficiency of their employees and find more ways that they can be economical.
Wow....! This is sad and i know it is crazy how much we already have spend on immigration...
They should allow more people with less costs since many will start businesses, buy cars, homes, etc...have good backgrounds....illegals on the other hand only cost money! This country was build on immigrants.
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