U.S. Govt. proposes fee hikes for genealogical records (eyes, find, search)
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United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency that oversees the country's immigration and naturalization system, has proposed significantly increasing fees for a number of applications and documents, including historical records of deceased immigrants who came to the United States between the late-19th and mid-20th centuries. In some cases, the proposed fees would amount to an increase of nearly 500%
Quote:
Currently, it costs $65 to have USCIS look through its database and determine whether it has any records on the immigrant being searched for. If it does, it's another $65 for each copy of a file. Under the proposed rule, it would cost $240 to request a search of USCIS' database and $385 to obtain each file.
What this tells me is they want to discourage ANY requests for information.
Indeed. They are trying to kill that resource. Senator Romney (Utah) is apparently taking an interest so there might be more information coming out, usage and request statistics and dollar figures.
Out of some 30+ years of genealogy work I have never used these services.
Interesting find. Wow, what a ridiculous increase in price. I've not used these resources, but still. It seems to me they would rather not deal with these requests with such huge price hikes.
Maybe but on the other hand.....maybe the tax money just isn't there anymore. Consider the Administration.
If the tax dollars aren't there, then they have to charge fees, more fees, to do the job.
What tax dollars are required? I don’t know how much a government worker is paid by the hour, but surely an electronic search of a database takes only minutes and doesn’t require advanced education or skills. The proposed fee for the search is $240. It sounds like a lot of profit is built into the fee.
What tax dollars are required? I don’t know how much a government worker is paid by the hour, but surely an electronic search of a database takes only minutes and doesn’t require advanced education or skills. The proposed fee for the search is $240. It sounds like a lot of profit is built into the fee.
Well, look how much it costs a person to get a concealed handgun licence. What do they have to pay for that background check to be done?
Well, look how much it costs a person to get a concealed handgun licence. What do they have to pay for that background check to be done?
I have no idea. I live in Canada and don’t own a gun. However, I assume a background check involves more than looking for a single record on a single database electronically... at least I hope it does.
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I have no idea. I live in Canada and don’t own a gun. However, I assume a background check involves more than looking for a single record on a single database electronically... at least I hope it does.
