USA proposed rise in Immigration fees

at a glance
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is proposing increases in immigration document fees:
Application for green card: $985 (from $930)
Application to replace green card: $365 (from $290)
Application to be temporary resident: $1,130 (from $710)
Application for work permit: $380 (from $340)
Petition for alien relative: $420 (from $355)
Immigrant visa: $165 (from $0; immigrants already pay visa fees to State Department)
Biometric/fingerprinting: $85 (from $80)
Civil surgeon designation: $615 (from $0)
regional center for immigrant investors: $6,230 (from $0)
Naturalization (citizenship): $595 (no change)
details: Go to www.regulations.gov or www.uscis.gov to learn how to comment on the proposals.
Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

instead of solving the immigration problem US government just wants to make it worse, no wonder so many come to the US under the fence and stay. And some think Thailand Imm. is bad.

What would be the point in raising the rates when they allow 10m-15m people circumvent the current laws? The only ones it affects would be the ones trying to come to the States legally.

Prior to the Bush administration, fees were priced per the local economy. A one-price fits all scheme GUARANTEES non-compliance and circumvention. I mean really...convert those prices into THB or any other developing country's currency then compare that to the average MONTHLY wage. It's a no-brainer what Bush and Co. were up to when they changed the rules. People from European countries would still be able to enter with the higher rates in effect without too much hardship. Mexico, Thailand, Ghana, etc...hmmmpf.

Having gone through the process for the wife and daughter, and all other things being equal, there is no doubt in my mind that they would not have been able to get their green card without some pretty hard-nosed persistence on my part. The whole system is against them. Sort of like "Ha ha my parents/grandparents came over on the boat, and I can now claim to be born and bred American, but YOU are not worthy! Ha ha." Sickens me.

I hope O gets immigration reform passed. Only then can Lady Liberty truly and proudly stand for something again.


"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

- Emma Lazarus

I don't think the USA wants poor, uneducated immigrants. They want educated, wealthy immigrants who can contribute to a sophisicated technical work force.

The pricing scheme helps limit the poor people who will become legal immigrants. The USA already has more than enough poor people.

Illegal immigrants from all over the world come across the Mexican border and through the ocean ports, although the majority are from Mexico and other Central American countries. Allowing this illegal immigration helps create an underclass of cheap labor that is mostly politically disenfranchised and largely unable to fight for wages and benefits that legal workers could. Business people love them and take advantage of them as much as possible. Their presence helps to keep wages and benefits down for legal workers.

Most of the food produced in the US is with the help of illegals or poor legal immigrants. The US would have a hard time feeding itself without them. Vegetable and fruit picking, animal slaughter houses and meat packing is largely done by illegals and poor legals.

My wife had no problem getting her green card and later her US citizenship. It was quite easy after we made sure that we had all the documents that were required. The K visa for her to go to the US took about 6 weeks from the initial application. Her green card and social security card arrived in the mail about 10 days after she entered the US. After 2 years and 9 months in the US she applied for citizenship. She had her naturalization ceremony about 5 months later. The prices were a bit cheaper then. It was 2003 and 2006.

I'll bet my total immigration bill for living in Thailand for ten years (that's how long a green card is valid) is far more than nine hundred dollars.