byjove
08-31-2007, 01:12 AM
USCIS Delivers Bad Service at an Outragous Price
August 29th, 2007
In February, USCIS proposed fee hikes of as much as 69% for dozens of immigrant processing services in order to “build a new immigration service for the 21st Century.” Despite receiving more than 4,000 formal complaints by organizations and members of Congress, USCIS moved forward with the new fees, calling it a business decision.
But every business decision should come with a plan. And we’ve yet to hear a good explanation for why we are seeing an exponential jump in USCIS service fees. In 1998, it cost $95 to apply for U.S. citizenship, but today—even after technology has made nearly every processing service cheaper—USCIS is charging more than $675. A 600% increase for delayed and shoddy services?
Everyone is willing to pay fair fees for fair services, but USCIS delivers bad service at an outrageous price. For an Administration that claims to promote integration and a pathway to the American Dream, USCIS’s choice to burden hard-working, law-abiding immigrants with the costs of their own incompetence is shameful.
This lawsuit is about accountability. We’ve waited far too long for an overhaul of USCIS’s services to let them throw public money at the problem without a sensible plan. We need to hold USCIS accountable so that it provides cutting-edge service at a reasonable cost. We need to hold Congress accountable for doing its job and to provide funding for an effective restructuring of USCIS’s services.
The Bush Administration has talked a lot about fixing our broken immigration system, and step one must be fixing our infrastructure. When the federal government cannot successfully deliver basic immigration and citizenship services at an affordable price, it’s hard to believe they’ve got what it will take to achieve the kind of comprehensive immigration reforms the American public is waiting for
August 29th, 2007
In February, USCIS proposed fee hikes of as much as 69% for dozens of immigrant processing services in order to “build a new immigration service for the 21st Century.” Despite receiving more than 4,000 formal complaints by organizations and members of Congress, USCIS moved forward with the new fees, calling it a business decision.
But every business decision should come with a plan. And we’ve yet to hear a good explanation for why we are seeing an exponential jump in USCIS service fees. In 1998, it cost $95 to apply for U.S. citizenship, but today—even after technology has made nearly every processing service cheaper—USCIS is charging more than $675. A 600% increase for delayed and shoddy services?
Everyone is willing to pay fair fees for fair services, but USCIS delivers bad service at an outrageous price. For an Administration that claims to promote integration and a pathway to the American Dream, USCIS’s choice to burden hard-working, law-abiding immigrants with the costs of their own incompetence is shameful.
This lawsuit is about accountability. We’ve waited far too long for an overhaul of USCIS’s services to let them throw public money at the problem without a sensible plan. We need to hold USCIS accountable so that it provides cutting-edge service at a reasonable cost. We need to hold Congress accountable for doing its job and to provide funding for an effective restructuring of USCIS’s services.
The Bush Administration has talked a lot about fixing our broken immigration system, and step one must be fixing our infrastructure. When the federal government cannot successfully deliver basic immigration and citizenship services at an affordable price, it’s hard to believe they’ve got what it will take to achieve the kind of comprehensive immigration reforms the American public is waiting for