The Time Is Now

Immigrant Groups to Legal Residents: Get Naturalized Now or Pay Higher Fees Later

 

By Gillian Boyce

 

Attendees wave flags at an immigration rally in Miami last year. File photo by Mitchell Zachs/Magicalphotos.com

The deadline for legal immigrants to file for U.S. citizenship without paying a 69 percent hike in filing fees is fast approaching.

Come June, the United States Citizenship and Information Services will raise the naturalization fee from $400 to $675; an increase immigration advocates say would place an unfair burden on those seeking to become new citizens.

Several community organizations have partnered to launch the Ya Es Hora citizenship campaign to get the word out to eligible, legal permanent residents in South Florida to apply for U.S. citizenship before the new fees take effect in June. The campaign kicked off at Miami Dade College’s downtown campus on March 27.

Ya Es Hora is part of a large national citizenship campaign coordinated jointly by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund, the National Council of La Raza and the Service Employees International Union. Their goal is to inform, educate and motivate eligible legal immigrants to file for citizenship.

“Overcoming the $675 barrier is going to become a real burden and this [fee increase] sends new immigrants the wrong message at a time they’re seeking to become citizens,” said Javier Angulo, director of civic education for NALEO.

Many immigrants are not aware of the new fees, said Sonia Lopez, vice president of operations for the Cuban American National Council.

“There’s no sense of [urgency] — people don’t know about it and many are afraid. Some get to legal residence status and think that’s it,” said Lopez.

“The campaign is not only for Latinos, but for everyone in the community,” said Angulo.

Currently, there are more than 600,000 legal immigrants in South Florida eligible to file for citizenship, according to NALEO.

Sen. Barack Obama, along with U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, both Illinois Democrats, recently sponsored the Citizen Promotion Act, which would freeze the naturalization fee at the current level.

Along with the freeze on naturalization fees, other measures proposed in the bill include a reduction in the amount of time it takes for USCIS to conduct background checks on immigrants, and creating a national citizenship promotion program that encourages legal immigrants to apply for citizenship.

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