The Immigration and Naturalization Service has forwarded to the Justice Department a plan to raise a range of fees including raising the current $95 naturalization application fee to $200 or more. The INS also plans on disbanding the outside contractor program for collecting fingerprint impressions as a response to Congress’ concerns with fraud and abuse. The INS would charge $30 for collecting fingerprints. The Justice Department, which oversees INS operations, has not yet approved the plan and the proposal is already drawing fire from Congress. Illinois House Democrat Luis Gutierrez, the chairman o fthe Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force denounced the plan saying that the INS has no business increasing fees paid by the public when its case backlogs are causing applicants to have to wait two or more years to become a citizen. Others are predicting that a steep fee increase would discourage people from applying for citizenship. The INS last raised its fees since July 1994.
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