US to Raise Naturalization Application Fees by $500

The latest from the Trump Administration reveals an intent to increase the fee for immigrants who want to work, reside, and ultimately stay in the United States. It’s been noted that the naturalization application fee has increased 80 percent. Also, there has been a fee implemented for asylum applicants that has never been issued before.
It’s been a total length of nine full months for a review to be completed regarding the country’s naturalization and immigration system. US Citizenship and Immigration Services is the agency that is responsible for both of these systems. According to a Los Angeles citizenship lawyer, they have finalized their fee structure and released the information to the public.

A look at legal immigration help Los Angeles will reveal that online naturalization applications have increased to $1,160. This is up $520 from the past $640 fee. This naturalization fee increase has been notated as necessary to cover the cost of overhead fees and thorough processing of the entire application. 

Those who are seeking asylum will now be responsible for a $50 fee instead of being able to do so for free, like in the past. Other countries have left the asylum fee waived according to the Migration Policy Institute. However, our country is now joining the likes of Iran, Fiji, and Australia in imposing fees for these asylum seekers.

Your naturalization attorney Los Angeles can tell you that these fees are set to take precedence on October 2nd. So, if you’re seeking naturalization, now is the time for hiring a lawyer for the naturalization process Los Angeles. You’ll only need to pay the existing $640 fee instead of an additional $520 when the new fee structure kicks in.

This fee increase has been somewhat imminent according to any knowledgeable Los Angeles citizenship lawyer. With the USCIS facing significant cuts to their budget, it’s no doubt that furloughs are looming. The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the major noted reasons for the shutdowns of various offices throughout the country.

Legal immigration help Los Angeles has revealed that USCIS actually asked Congress for 1.2 billion dollars in emergency funding to maintain operations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This request has yet to be met. Since this federal agency receives its income from collecting fees, its revenue has been drastically decreased with the pandemic.

The naturalization attorney Los Angeles for USCIS stated that the COVID-19 pandemic is not the main reason for needing to increase the fees associated with naturalization. Rather, they noted that fees have not increased in years and this has greatly backlogged the budget of USCIS. They call the new fee structure and overdue adjustment that is necessary to fairly administer immigration services in the United States.

If you’ve considered hiring a lawyer for the naturalization process Los Angeles, then you should be aware of the rising fee structure. This process doesn’t take a lot of time, and the sooner you get your application submitted, the more assured you can be that you’ll miss the fee increase. Don’t hesitate any longer as you’ll likely find yourself paying almost double the fee for your naturalization application. Call us today to talk to our immigration lawyer in Los Angeles.